AD Proposed for R22/R44 Governor Controller

The FAA has received three reports of R22 Beta and R44 II governor controller failures which resulted in underspeed or overspeed events, two of which resulted in hard landings which caused significant damage to the helicopter. Each of these separate incidents occurred after significant rainfall where the helicopter was exposed to those weather conditions.

Prior to these incidents, several operators notified Robinson of malfunctions of the governor controller. Subsequent investigation and testing determined the root cause for these malfunctions to be water intrusion in the circuit board of the governor controller.

In 2023, Robinson issued service bulletins directing replacement of an affected governor controller (P/N D270-1 Revision A through E inclusive) with one which provides additional moisture protection (P/N D270-1 Revision F and later).

Robinson Helicopter R22 Service Bulletin SB-121 (June 28, 2023)
Robinson Helicopter R44 Service Bulletin SB-114 (June 28, 2023)

The FAA is proposing an Airworthiness Directive (AD) to direct compliance with the above Service Bulletins, applicable to all Robinson Helicopter Model R22 Beta, R22 Mariner, R44 and R44 II helicopters with affected governor controllers installed. You can view this Proposed AD here. Comments are due Sep. 3, 2024.