NTSB Safety Recommendations A-10-148 through -158

[NTSB Press Releases <ntsbpressreleases@xxxxxxxx>]

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                   NTSB SAFETY RECOMMENDATION
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National Transportation Safety Board
Washington, DC 20594

Month Day, Year

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The National Transportation Safety Board recommends that the 
Federal Aviation Administration: 

Require that the hover performance charts published by 
helicopter manufacturers reflect the true performance of the 
helicopter in all conditions for which the charts are 
applicable, including light and variable wind conditions. 
(A-10-148)

Develop and implement a surveillance program specifically for 
14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135 operators with 
aircraft that can operate both as public aircraft and as civil 
aircraft to maintain continual oversight ensuring compliance 
with 14 CFR Part 135 requirements. (A-10-149) 

Take appropriate actions to clarify Federal Aviation 
Administration (FAA) authority over public aircraft, as well 
as identify and document where such oversight responsibilities 
reside in the absence of FAA authority. (A-10-150) 

Require the installation of fuel tanks that meet the 
requirements of 14 Code of Federal Regulations 29.952 on S-61 
helicopters that are used for passenger transport. (A-10-151) 
Require that S-61 helicopters that are used for passenger 
transport be equipped with passenger seats and seat mounting 
structures that provide substantial improvement over the 
requirements of Civil Air Regulations 7.260, such as complying 
with portions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations 29.561 and 
29.562. (A-10-152) 

Require operators of transport-category helicopters to equip 
all passenger seats with restraints that have an appropriate 
release mechanism that can be released with minimal difficulty 
under emergency conditions. (A-10-153) 

Require that Advisory Circular 21-34 be used to evaluate all 
shoulder harness retrofit installations and to determine that 
the installations reduce the risk of occupant injury. (A-10-
154) 

Require operators of Sikorsky S-61 helicopters with General 
Electric model CT58-140 engines to install 10-micron airframe 
fuel filters. (A-10-155) 

Require Carson Helicopters, Inc., to put a conspicuous 
notification on the title page of the Instructions for 
Continuing Airworthiness that accompany its supplemental type 
certificate for installing side-mounted seats indicating that 
the installation does not provide enhanced occupant protection 
over that provided by the originally installed seats and meets 
Civil Air Regulations 7.260 standards. (A-10-156) 

Require all applicants for supplemental type certificate (STC) 
seat installations in any type of aircraft to put a 
conspicuous notification on the title page of the Instructions 
for Continuing Airworthiness that accompany the STC indicating 
whether the installation provides enhanced occupant protection 
over that provided by the originally installed seats and the 
certification standard level met by the seating system. (A-10-
157) 

Require supplemental type certificate (STC) applicants to 
improve the crashworthiness design of the seating system, 
such as complying with portions of 14 Code of Federal 
Regulations 29.561 and 29.562, when granting STC approval 
for older transport-category rotorcraft certificated to 
Civil Air Regulations 7.260 standards. (A-10-158)

Also, the National Transportation Safety Board reiterates 
the following previously issued recommendation to the 
Federal Aviation Administration:

Do not permit exemptions or exceptions to the flight 
recorder regulations that allow transport-category 
rotorcraft to operate without flight recorders, and withdraw 
the current exemptions and exceptions that allow transport-
category rotorcraft to operate without flight recorders. (A-
06-18)

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http://www.ntsb.gov/Recs/letters/2010/A-10-148-158.pdf

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The complete recommendation letter is available on the Web 
at the URL indicated above.

The letter is in the Portable Document Format (PDF) and can 
be read using the Acrobat Reader 5.0 or later from Adobe 
(http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html). 
	
An archive of recommendation letters is available at 
http://www.ntsb.gov/recs/letters/letters.htm. 
Electronic versions of letters may or may not include 
enclosures; however, related publications, accident 
briefs, and aviation accident synopses may be found 
on the NTSB website.

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