Requires Inspections For Corrosion On Main Landing Gear Legs

The FAA says there have been several instances of cracking at drag brace attachment location within the MLG of the Helio Courier Models H-391B, H-395, H-395A, H-250, and H-295 airplanes. While the current maintenance procedures include a visual inspection in the MLG leg for cracks, there have been instances where the cracks remained undetected and have led to landing gear failures. An improved inspection technique will improve the success rate of crack detection.

To that end, the FAA has issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) focused on the need for better inspection procedures to detect cracks due to corrosion inside the main landing gear (MLG) legs.

The current visual inspections defined in the airplane flight manual need to be continued. Additionally, it is recommended that the visual inspections be performed with 3X magnification at the drag brace attachment location to better observe any cracks early during the inspections. The drag brace location is the region where the drag brace attaches to the landing gear legs, approximately 29 to 30 inches above the axle centerline. Cracks were found to originate on the aft face of the landing gear legs.

(Image from file)

FMI: SAIB