Eligibility of parts for Agusta Bell and Bell helicopters

In 2006 the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) identified that there was a misunderstanding regarding the eligibility of new parts that can be fitted to certain Agusta Bell (AB) Helicopters and to their Bell equivalent. This has resulted in parts being inappropriately intermixed between the two helicopter types.

This information provides guidance on the eligibility of parts for installation on each type and the policy to be followed if an unqualified part is found to be installed.

The product manufacturers, supported by EASA, have on several occasions attempted to make clear that only parts that are manufactured under the control of the Type Certificate Holder (TCH) are eligible for installation on their respective helicopters. Where a part does not meet these criteria, then it should be replaced with a part conforming with the TCH holders’ requirements.

This policy is supported by Service Information Letters / Information Letters issued by the Type Certificate holders for certain Agusta Bell and Bell helicopter types, clarifying their individual positions concerning the eligibility requirements for replacement parts. Details of the Service Information Letters and Information Letters is provided below:

• Agusta Westland Information Letter (dated 15 November 2006). This covers AB47, AB206, AB204, AB205A1, AB212 SERIES and AB412 civil registered helicopters.
• Leonardo Service Information Letter (dated May 7, 2021). This covers all AB206 and AB412 and supersedes the information in the above Information Letter on AB206 and AB412 civil registered aircraft only.
• Bell Helicopters Information Letter No. GEN-21-150 (dated 10 May 2021). This supersedes Bell Helicopters Information Letter No. GEN-99-65.

Please note parts produced by or for Leonardo (formally Agusta Westland) are not eligible for installation on Bell manufactured helicopters.

New parts produced by Bell, under their production approvals, can only be used on AB206 and AB412 civil registered aircraft if released on an FAA Form 8130-3 Airworthiness Approval Tag.

With the exception of the AB206 and AB412, original Bell Helicopter components are only eligible to be installed on AB products when supplied or authorised by Agusta (now Leonardo) and released with an EASA Form 1. Refer to the Agusta Westland Information letter dated 15 November 2006.

In summary, the helicopters must comply with their applicable Type Certificate, be fitted with correctly configured conforming parts and be maintained using the correct instructions for continuing airworthiness (ICA) as specified by the Type Certificate Holder. Failure to ensure that the helicopter is correctly configured and maintained will result in an unairworthy aircraft and invalidate its Certificate of Airworthiness. It should be noted that, in line with the continued airworthiness of the in-service fleet as mentioned in the Service Information Letter (SIL), an Airworthiness Directive (AD) issued by the Civil Aviation Directorate of the Department of Transport of Canada (TCCA) for the Bell 206 and by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the Bell 412 in relation to parts produced by or for Bell, in principle will have a corresponding EASA AD to cover the AB fleet of aircraft. However, at organisation level, the applicable regulation shall be complied with to ensure all applicable ADs are captured and actioned.

In the event of a discrepancy between the information published here and the information published by the respective Type Certificate Holder, the information published by the Type Certificate Holder takes precedence.