SAIB NE-05-05 —

1 SPECIAL AIRWORTHINESS INFORMATION BULLETIN

Aircraft Certification Service Washington, DC

U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration

NE-05-05 October 21, 2004 www.faa.gov/certification/aircraft This is information only. Recommendations aren’t mandatory.

Introduction

This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) advises you, owners and operators of Schweizer Aircraft Corporation (SAC) Models 269C and 269C-1, of failure of the throttle bellcrank support, P/N 269A8460, and availability of attached Schweizer Service Bulletins (SBs), C1B-16.1 and B282.1.

Background

SAC has received reports of three Throttle Bellcrank Support (P/N 269A8460-1) failures resulting from fatigue cracks just below the throttle control bellcrank attach lug. A review of the blueprint part subjected to the design loads has confirmed structural adequacy. A possible source of the problem could be due to excessive surface grinding at the critical area of the casting. The referenced SBs call for inspections at the critical section to identify cracks, corrosion and undersized sections. The SBs also call for the installation of a new kit, SA-269K-115-1 or –3 that will prevent failure of the support bracket.

Although the bracket failures have been limited to Model 269C-1, since certain Model 269C helicopters use a similar bracket, inspection and modification is also called for in these models.

Recommendation

We recommend you make inspections and modifications for the following models in accordance with the listed service bulletins below:

Model Serial Number Aircraft Condition Service Bulletin 269C-1 1 though 138 Equipped with carbureted engines incorporating the 269A8460-1 support bracket that have not been modified by installation of SA-269K-115-1 or –3 Kit C1B-16.1 dated September 24, 2004 269C 4 through S1729 Equipped with optional throttle governor system 269A4995 that have the 269A8460-3 support bracket installed as a spare, and have not been modified by the installation of SA-269K-115-1 or –3 Kit B282.1 dated September 24, 2004 269C S1730 and subsequent Equipped with optional throttle governor system 269A4995 incorporating the 269A8460-3 support bracket that have not been modified by the installation of SA-269K-115-1 or –3 Kit B282.1 dated September 24, 2004

2 For Further Information Contact

George J. Duckett, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA New York ACO, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; phone: (516) 228-7325; fax (516) 794-5531; email: [email protected]

Schweizer Aircraft Corporation, 1250 Schweizer Road. Horseheads, NY 14845; phone: (607) 739-3821; fax: (607) 796-2488.