Airworthiness Directives; Leonardo S.p.A. Helicopters

Built by the Tribune's code from the Federal Register. No AI wrote this page. Published in the Federal Register May 13, 2026. Document 2026-09516. Updated Nov. 11, 2026.

What it does

The FAA is superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2021-23-04 which applied to certain Leonardo S.p.A. Model A109E helicopters. AD 2021-23-04 required repetitive inspections of the intersection of the lateral pylon and floor spar at station (STA) 1815 for cracking and, depending on the findings, repair. Since the FAA issued AD 2021-23-04, it was determined that additional helicopter models are affected by the unsafe condition. Additionally, the manufacturer has developed a modification that provides terminating action for the repetitive inspections. This AD continues to require repetitive inspections of the affected area for cracking and adds additional helicopter models to the applicability. This AD also requires modification of the affected area, which is terminating action for the repetitive inspections. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The Federal Aviation Administration's summary, as published in the Federal Register.

What changed in the regulation

1 part of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations:

14 CFR 39

Wording on eCFR: the day before it took effect and from the day it took effect (first part listed).

Compared with

The Federal Aviation Administration has published 485 final rules in 2026 so far, compared with 518 in all of 2025.

Counted by the Tribune from Federal Register records since Jan. 1, 2025.

Before this

788 earlier Federal Register documents under regulation identifier 2120-AA64 since Jan. 1, 2025.

Since then:

What happens next and when

This AD is effective June 17, 2026.

The agency's dates, word for word.

Check it yourself

The record as published

Document number	2026-09516
Action	Final rule.
Agencies	Transportation Department; Federal Aviation Administration
Published	May 13, 2026
Effective date	June 17, 2026
Regulation identifier (RIN)	2120-AA64
Docket	FAA-2025-2556

Source: the Federal Register (public domain). The document in the Federal Register