Airworthiness Directives; Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc. (Bell) Helicopters
We are superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2013-11-05 for Bell Model 214B, 214B-1, and 214ST helicopters with certain tail rotor hanger bearings (bearing) installed. AD 2013-11-05 required inspecting the bearing to determine whether an incorrectly manufactured seal material is installed on the bearing. This new AD retains the repetitive inspection of the bearings and also requires replacing the defective bearings. This AD was prompted by a report that certain bearings were manufactured with an incorrect seal material that does not meet Bell specifications. We are issuing this AD to prevent failure of the bearing and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.