# SAIB SW-10-42: Emergency Float Kits - Type: Special airworthiness information bulletin (advisory, not mandatory) - Status: Historical - Revision: 0 - Issued: August 5, 2010 - Products: Apical Industries Emergency Float Kits, 206A, 206B, 206L, 206L-1, 206L-3, 206L-4 and 407 - Product type: Appliance - PDF: https://openairdocs.org/files/sha256/01/ea/01eab2ba2e9013a6ced12684c4b2eb7ba9c778f8b7e1100d29db1dd04186a063 - FAA DRS: https://drs.faa.gov/browse/excelExternalWindow/2B3318DE2778D7E186257776006A31A2.0001 - DRS record last changed: August 5, 2010 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/saib/SW-10-42 ## Text FAA Aviation Safety **SPECIAL AIRWORTHINESS** INFORMATION BULLETIN SAIB: SW-10-42 SUBJ: Emergency Float Kits Date: August 5, 2010 This is information only. Recommendations aren’t mandatory. Introduction This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) alerts owners and operators that an uneven deployment has occurred on aircraft equipped with the following Apical Industries, Inc. Emergency Float Kits: Kit Part Number Kit Serial Number Effectivity Helicopter Model Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) 614.3001 093 and below Bell 407 SR01535LA 614.3003 139 and below Bell 206L, L-1, L-3, L-4 SR01535LA 614.3004 008 and below Bell 407 SR01535LA 614.3006 006 and below Bell 206L, L-1, L-3, L-4 SR01535LA 614.3007 015 and below Bell 206A, B SR01535LA 614.3008 004 and below Bell 206A, B SR01535LA Background During a recent incident involving a helicopter with the subject STC installed, the pilot attempted to deploy the floats as designed. Although the inflation valve released the pressurized gas normally, the floats did not deploy evenly and the right hand mid float was ruptured. It was determined that the cause for the uneven deployment was due to the incorrect installation of the float inflation hoses at the port fitting located at the base of the forward crosstube saddles. The hose that inflates the mid floats, which has a restricted flow, was crossed with the hose that inflates the aft floats, which has unrestricted flow. At this time, the airworthiness concern is not an unsafe condition that would warrant airworthiness directive (AD) action under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR) part 39. Recommendations We recommend that owners/operators equipped with the Apical Industries, Inc. Emergency Float Kits as list above, comply with Apical Industries, Inc.’s Alert Service Bulletin, SB2010-03, dated 7/13/08, revision N/C, which requires the inspection of the float hose port fitting connection and the application of clarifying markings. For Further Information Contact Venessa Stiger, Aerospace Engineer, 3960 Paramount Blvd., Lakewood, CA 90710; phone: (562) 627-5337; fax: (562) 627-5210; e-mail: venessa.stiger@faa.gov. For Related Service Information Contact Apical Industries, Inc., 2608 Temple Heights Drive, Oceanside, California 92056-3512, phone: (760) 724-5300; fax: (760) 758-9612. ## Registered aircraft it may concern (OpenAirDocs) Registry models matched by make and model, the same way as ADs, most registered aircraft first. - [Bell 206B](https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-206b): 791 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 407](https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-helicopter-textron-canada-407): 418 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Bell 407](https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-407): 371 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Bell Textron Canada 407](https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-textron-canada-407): 196 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Bell 206L-3](https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-206l-3): 159 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Bell Helicopter Textron 206L-1](https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-helicopter-textron-206l-1): 149 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Bell 206-L4](https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-206-l4): 122 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 206L-4](https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-helicopter-textron-canada-206l-4): 103 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Bell Helicopter Textron 206B](https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-helicopter-textron-206b): 29 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Bell 206A](https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-206a): 23 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 206B](https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-helicopter-textron-canada-206b): 10 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Bell 206L](https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-206l): 6 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 206L-3](https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-helicopter-textron-canada-206l-3): 4 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Bell 206B II](https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-206b-ii): 3 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Agusta 206A](https://openairdocs.org/model/agusta-206a): 0 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Agusta AGUSTA-BELL 206B](https://openairdocs.org/model/agusta-agusta-bell-206b): 0 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Agusta Bell AB 206A](https://openairdocs.org/model/agusta-bell-ab-206a): 0 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Bell Helicopter Textron 206L-4](https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-helicopter-textron-206l-4): 0 registered aircraft (airframe model) --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.