Regardless of the reason for the mainrotor to detach, it's a known fact that Airbus is heavily involved in designing and delivering main components to this aircraft programme.
Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) is the prime contractor. As the primary partner, EADS Eurocopter will provide technical assistance, and supply the rotor mast, transmission, and autopilot subassemblies. Eurocopter has a stake of 30% in the development phase, and 20% in the production phase
How many airbus designed rotor disk detachments can be accepted within a relatively short timeframe? Regardless of the root cause, I belive airbus has a MAJOR problem.
The design of this main rotor mast looks very like the 225 mast, but with only four blades. It seems only to have small differences with the drag dampers, de-ice arrangement and dome fairing.
Pitch links, MRH sleeve and blade horns seems identical to the EC225.
This is my take on this accident:
Watch closely at the photo in post 12, you will see the lower blade horn nut sheared off, most likely due to direct hit from a ruptured pitch link. The same pitch link has impacted the MRH blade sleeve and caused
a major deformation of the sleeve tube which subsequently ruptured sending the fwd blade at the time flying. The MRH can no longer sustain the vibrations and it detaches from the aircraft.
What can cause a pitch link failure? Pitch link damage? Swashplate seizure/failure? Scissor failure?
edit: I also noticed that the pitch link connected to the blade horn of the ruptured sleeve has sheared off at the top, while the other two visible pitch links has sheared off/got the eyebolt pulled out of the pitch link tube at the bottom.
Again Airbus will put the blame on the maintenance crew involved in maintaining the aircraft as usual or they're gonna rule this out as a military prototype crash not in any way related to any other aircraft on the market today. Case closed!
Rest in peace fellow aviators.
