Narrative:

A small crack in the left forward transmission deck was reported to the director of maintenance. Photos were taken and submitted to the airframe manufacturer for evaluation and a repair scheme. The aircraft was returned to service. No log entry was made concerning the crack discovery with any reference to the manufacturer's damage limit criteria; no temporary repair was installed; no monitoring of the crack was initiated. As chief inspector for the repair station; no mention of this was made until I used the company camera and found pictures of the crack. Upon inquiring; the director of maintenance said eurocopter (the airframe manufacturer) had been given the information. No mention of returning to service was discussed. After completion of several other tasks; I went to the flight line to look at the crack. The aircraft had been dispatched and was out flying. I notified our chief pilot who was present. I was informed he would address this to the director of operations. Callback conversation with reporter revealed the following information: reporter stated after he notified their chief pilot; the eurocopter as-350-B1 was routed back to their repair station. The manufacturer issued a new engineering order to install a sheet metal doubler on the transmission support deck at the forward left area where the crack had developed. The opposite diagonal corner; which would be the aft right area of the same transmission support plate; was already a known crack location. Engineering had previously issued a repair to operators for that problem. The transmission and upper rotor assembly are mounted to the transmission deck at the same two locations where both cracks had developed. The transmission deck is the structural support section for the rotational loads from the transmission and main rotor assembly.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Chief Inspector of a repair station reports finding pictures of a small crack in the left forward transmission deck of a Eurocopter AS-350-B1. No log entry; no temporary repair; no damage limit criteria. The helicopter had been released for service and was flying.

Narrative: A small crack in the left forward transmission deck was reported to the Director of Maintenance. Photos were taken and submitted to the airframe manufacturer for evaluation and a repair scheme. The aircraft was returned to service. No log entry was made concerning the crack discovery with any reference to the manufacturer's damage limit criteria; no temporary repair was installed; no monitoring of the crack was initiated. As Chief Inspector for the repair station; no mention of this was made until I used the company camera and found pictures of the crack. Upon inquiring; the Director of Maintenance said Eurocopter (the airframe manufacturer) had been given the information. No mention of returning to service was discussed. After completion of several other tasks; I went to the flight line to look at the crack. The aircraft had been dispatched and was out flying. I notified our Chief Pilot who was present. I was informed he would address this to the Director of Operations. Callback conversation with Reporter revealed the following information: Reporter stated after he notified their Chief Pilot; the Eurocopter AS-350-B1 was routed back to their repair station. The manufacturer issued a new Engineering Order to install a sheet metal doubler on the transmission support deck at the forward left area where the crack had developed. The opposite diagonal corner; which would be the aft right area of the same transmission support plate; was already a known crack location. Engineering had previously issued a repair to operators for that problem. The transmission and upper rotor assembly are mounted to the transmission deck at the same two locations where both cracks had developed. The transmission deck is the structural support section for the rotational loads from the transmission and main rotor assembly.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.