Data / Federal rules / 2026-06369
Airworthiness Directives; Bell Textron Canada Limited Helicopters
The Federal Aviation Administration published this final rule in the Federal Register on April 1, 2026. It took effect on April 16, 2026. Comments closed on May 18, 2026.
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What the agency says
The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Bell Textron Canada Limited (Bell) Model 505 helicopters. The FAA previously sent this AD as an emergency AD to all known U.S. owners and operators of these helicopters. This AD was prompted by a failure of the hinge assembly on the aft movable ballast box assembly, which could allow the ballast weights to escape the ballast box and strike the tail rotor assembly. This AD requires revising the Limitations section of the existing rotorcraft flight manual (RFM) for the helicopter to prohibit the use of ballast weights within the aft movable ballast box assembly. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.
Key facts
- Document number
- 2026-06369
- Type
- Final rule
- Action
- Final rule; request for comments
- Agency
- Transportation Department; Federal Aviation Administration
- Published
- April 1, 2026
- Takes effect
- April 16, 2026
- Comments due
- May 18, 2026
- Dates
- This AD is effective April 16, 2026. Emergency AD 2026-05-51, issued on March 6, 2026, which contained the requirements of this amendment, was effective with actual notice.
- Docket
- Docket No. FAA-2026-3472; Project Identifier MCAI-2026-00217-R; Amendment 39-23306; AD 2026-05-51
- Regulation ID (RIN)
- 2120-AA64
- Code of Federal Regulations
- 14 CFR 39
- Topics
- Air transportation; Aircraft; Aviation safety; Incorporation by reference; Safety
- Pages
- 3
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Everything from the Federal Aviation Administration · Rules on air transportation · Rules on aircraft · Rules on aviation safety · Published in April 2026
Read from the Federal Register API, last updated 2026-10-23. The document on federalregister.gov is the official record; dates and dockets can change through later corrections. Free to reuse with credit to SpecStream under CC BY 4.0.