On May 28, the European Aviation Safety Agency issued a new Airworthiness Directive (AD) for all Eurocopter EC225 LP helicopters, requiring pilots to land or ditch immediately as soon as the Emergency Lubrication (EMLUB) system of the helicopter is active.
According to the AD, the Emergency Lubrication (EMLUB) system of the helicopter was designed to guarantee 30 minutes of continued safe flight in the event of total loss of the dual oil lubrication system of the Main Gearbox (MGB).
Investigations on the EMLUB system have revealed an area of the flight envelope in which the emergency lubrication Glycol pump’s performance is different to that assumed during certification.
Consequently, even though the likelihood of using the EMLUB is extremely low (no total loss of oil lubrication encountered on the Super Puma fleet), as the continued safe flight of 30 minutes is not guaranteed in the whole flight envelope, and pending a Eurocopter modification to the Glycol pump and EMLUB pressure switches, an immediate landing or ditching is required as soon as the EMLUB system is activated.
To address this potential unsafe condition, Eurocopter issued EC225 Emergency Alert Service Bulletin (ASB) No 04A010 to provide updated Rotorcraft Flight Manual (RFM) emergency procedures.
For the reasons described above, this AD requires amendment of the RFM emergency procedures section.
The complete AD can be downloaded from the EASA website by clicking here.
