RCP0110_0_Hangar Talk 2/15/10 5:52 PM Page 34
LEGAL
to large multi-engine aircraft (more than
12,500 pounds). Historically, the follow-
ing have been reportable incidents:
• Flight control system malfunction or
failure;
• Injury or illness of a flight crewmem-
ber that renders him unable to per-
form normal flight duties;
• Failure of turbine engine structural
components (excluding compressor
and turbine blades and vanes);
• In-flight fire;
• Aircraft collision in flight; and
• Damage to property (other than the
aircraft) where it will cost more than
$25,000.00 to replace or repair (in-
cluding both labor and materials).
In its Final Rule published January 7,
2010, the NTSB amended one reportable
incident, and added five others. The
amendment concerns the failure of turbine
engine components, and changes the lan-
guage to require a report in the event of a
“[f]ailure of any internal turbine engine component that results in the escape of de- bris other than out the exhaust path.” As
this type of failure is already required to
be reported to the FAA under 14 C.F.R.
§ 121.703 and 135.415, the new defini-
tion places an additional burden on Part
121 and Part 135 operators to make a dual
report. The NTSB considered this, and
decided that the imposition was minimal
compared to the agency’s interest in re-
ceiving immediate notification. Interest-
ingly, the agency’s position seems to
indicate that it does not feel it can rely on
the FAA to pass along such a report in a
timely manner.
Among the new reportable incidents,
some but not all apply to rotorcraft. The
most pertinent to rotorcraft involves our
initial scenario. Although ground contact
previously was not reportable, there is
now a new requirement to report all dam-
age to helicopter tail or main rotor blades,
including ground damage that requires
major repair or replacement of the blades.
Thus, our tail rotor strike on the down
slope landing now must be reported to the
nearest NTSB office.
Additionally, a report is now required
if a pilot experiences a complete loss of
information (excluding flickering) from
more than half of an aircraft’s cockpit dis-
plays such as Electronic Flight Instrument
System (EFIS) displays, Engine Indica-
tion and Crew Alerting System (EICAS)
displays, Electronic Centralized Aircraft
34 ROTORCRAFT PROFESSIONAL • February 2010
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