96-18-05 R1: Tailboom
FAA order 96-18-05 R1 is an airworthiness directive in force since December 21, 2010. The FAA's subject line: Tailboom. It names Bell 206 JetRanger and LongRanger: about 1,453 aircraft on the U.S. register today, though an order usually covers particular versions or serial numbers rather than every one. System: rotorcraft systems.
What it applies to as the FAA lists it
- Kind of product
- Aircraft
- Makes
- Bell Helicopter Textron Canada Limited
- Models
- 206L, 206L-1, 206L-3
- On this site
- Bell 206 JetRanger and LongRanger 1,453 registered
Dates and paperwork
- In force since
- December 21, 2010
- Published
- November 16, 2010 (signed October 26, 2010)
- Docket
- FAA-2008-1242
- Replaces
- 96-18-05
- Status
- Current
- The FAA's document
- Read the order on the FAA's site
The FAA's summary their words, unchanged
This amendment revises an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for Bell Helicopter Textron Canada (BHTC) Model 206L, 206L-1, and 206L-3 helicopters with a certain part numbered tailboom installed, that currently requires a visual inspection of the tailboom skin in the areas around the nutplates and in the areas of the tailboom drive shaft cover retention clips for cracks and corrosion using a 10-power or higher magnifying glass until the tailboom is replaced with an airworthy tailboom. This action requires the same actions as the existing AD, but allows a longer interval for the repetitive inspections if the tailboom is modified to increase its structural integrity. Replacement with an airworthy tailboom other than a part- numbered tailboom affected by this amendment constitutes a terminating action for the requirements of this AD. This amendment is prompted by an accident and several reports of fatigue cracks in the tailboom skin in the areas around the nutplates for the tail rotor fairing and in the areas of the tail rotor drive shaft cover retention clips. The actions required by this AD are intended to prevent failure of the tailboom and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.
The order itself the regulatory text, as published
Show the full text (3,854 characters)
Related safety bulletins advice on the same designs, not orders
Source: FAA Dynamic Regulatory System, airworthiness directives. The FAA's document is the authority; the register counts are this site's, from the FAA register of November 6, 2026. Connections as data: /graph/directive/96-18-05 R1.json · aircraft systems.
