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Airworthiness Directive

AD 2026-05-51 91 FR 16160 Active

Federal Aviation Administration · 14 CFR part 39

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.

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FR document
2026-06369
Amendment
39-23306
Published
2026-04-01
Effective
2026-04-16
Models covered
1

Last live check: 2026-08-19

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AD

2026-05-51

FR doc 2026-06369 · 91 FR 16160

AD 2026-05-51Published 2026-04-01Effective 2026-04-16

FAA rule - 14 CFR 39

FAA rule. Compliance with an applicable AD is required under 14 CFR 39.7. Check its effective date, applicability, compliance times and current status.

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.

Full official abstract

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.

More directives for Bell 505 Jet Ranger X

  1. AD 2026-18-10 Airworthiness Directives; Bell Textron Canada Limited Helicopters Effective 2026-10-22
  2. AD 2026-16-02 Airworthiness Directives; Bell Textron Canada Limited Helicopters Effective 2026-09-10
  3. AD 2026-15-06 Airworthiness Directives; Bell Textron Canada Limited Helicopters Effective 2026-09-03
  4. AD 2025-22-03 Airworthiness Directives; Bell Textron Canada Limited Helicopters Effective 2025-11-20
  5. AD 2025-18-10 Airworthiness Directives; Bell Textron Canada Limited Helicopters Effective 2025-09-25

All Bell 505 Jet Ranger X directives

View on Federal Register (opens in a new tab) View this AD in FAA DRS (opens in a new tab) Print AD packet (opens the full Federal Register document in a new tab)

Applies to 1 model in our index