AD 98-15-26

final rule
Data completeness: 70%

Airworthiness Directives; McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems Model 369A, 369D, 369E, 369F, 369FF, 369H, 369HE, 369HM, 369HS, 500N, 600N, and OH-6A Helicopters

AD Number
98-15-26
Status
final_rule
Effective Date
Product Category
aircraft
Docket
98-SW-22-AD
FR Citation
Federal Register: July 23, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 141)

Applicability

TypeManufacturerModelDetails
aircraft MD Helicopters, Inc. 369A Airworthiness Directives; McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems Model 369A, 369D, 369E, 369F, 369FF, 369H, 369HE, 369HM, 369HS, 500N, 600N, and OH-6A Helicopters
aircraft MD Helicopters, Inc. 369D Airworthiness Directives; McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems Model 369A, 369D, 369E, 369F, 369FF, 369H, 369HE, 369HM, 369HS, 500N, 600N, and OH-6A Helicopters
aircraft MD Helicopters, Inc. 369E Airworthiness Directives; McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems Model 369A, 369D, 369E, 369F, 369FF, 369H, 369HE, 369HM, 369HS, 500N, 600N, and OH-6A Helicopters
aircraft MD Helicopters, Inc. 369F Airworthiness Directives; McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems Model 369A, 369D, 369E, 369F, 369FF, 369H, 369HE, 369HM, 369HS, 500N, 600N, and OH-6A Helicopters
aircraft MD Helicopters, Inc. 369FF Airworthiness Directives; McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems Model 369A, 369D, 369E, 369F, 369FF, 369H, 369HE, 369HM, 369HS, 500N, 600N, and OH-6A Helicopters
aircraft MD Helicopters, Inc. 369H Airworthiness Directives; McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems Model 369A, 369D, 369E, 369F, 369FF, 369H, 369HE, 369HM, 369HS, 500N, 600N, and OH-6A Helicopters
aircraft MD Helicopters, Inc. 369HE Airworthiness Directives; McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems Model 369A, 369D, 369E, 369F, 369FF, 369H, 369HE, 369HM, 369HS, 500N, 600N, and OH-6A Helicopters
aircraft MD Helicopters, Inc. 369HM Airworthiness Directives; McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems Model 369A, 369D, 369E, 369F, 369FF, 369H, 369HE, 369HM, 369HS, 500N, 600N, and OH-6A Helicopters
aircraft MD Helicopters, Inc. 369HS Airworthiness Directives; McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems Model 369A, 369D, 369E, 369F, 369FF, 369H, 369HE, 369HM, 369HS, 500N, 600N, and OH-6A Helicopters
aircraft MD Helicopters, Inc. 500N Airworthiness Directives; McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems Model 369A, 369D, 369E, 369F, 369FF, 369H, 369HE, 369HM, 369HS, 500N, 600N, and OH-6A Helicopters

Unsafe Condition

Fatigue cracks in the main rotor blade lower doubler and spar, initiated by residual stresses from nonconforming doublers, which may propagate through the blade skin and lead to blade failure and loss of control.

AI-generated summary from the source AD text. Verify against the official source before acting.

Required Actions

Before further flight, visually inspect main rotor blades with 600+ hours time-in-service (TIS) using a 10X magnifying glass for cracks in the lower surface at the root fitting and doubler, and for missing/cracked adhesive or paint at the root end-to-doubler bonding line. Remove blades before or upon reaching specified torque events (TE) or TIS limits, whichever comes first. For Model 600N helicopters, remove affected blades prior to further flight and replace with airworthy blades.

AI-generated summary from the source AD text. Verify against the official source before acting.

Compliance Time

Before further flight, and thereafter at intervals not to exceed 25 hours time-in-service (TIS) for affected blades with 600+ hours TIS.

AI-generated summary from the source AD text. Verify against the official source before acting.

Affected Aircraft

McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems Models 369A, 369D, 369E, 369F, 369FF, 369H, 369HE, 369HM, 369HS, 500N, 600N, and OH-6A helicopters with main rotor blades installed.

AI-generated summary from the source AD text. Verify against the official source before acting.

Source: Official FAA Source ↗

Retrieved: Apr 8, 2026

Rights: U.S. Government Public Domain

This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the FAA. Always verify with official sources.