This Airworthiness Directive relates to the Survitec Life Raft Heliraft 18R MK3 (with packed assembly P/N 00051054 (Port) and 00051055 (Starboard).
While carrying out life raft deployment test, the life raft did not inflate properly, and the main seam of the buoyancy chamber ruptured.
Investigation determined that this issue was most likely caused by adhesive degradation as a result of harsh environmental conditioning over time.
This condition, if not detected and corrected, could lead, in case of ditching, to failure of the life raft to inflate correctly, possibly affecting the safety of occupants during such an event.
To address this potential unsafe condition, Survitec issued Alert Service Bulletin 25-197-A, to provide inspection instructions.
For the reasons described above, this AD requires a one-time inspection of the seam and a life raft stretch test and reporting the results of the inspection back to the manufacturer.
Source: CAA.