Originally Posted by
meleagertoo
Cause? Overloading the towbar made worse by using unsuitable tugs. The shockloading on the towbar with all the snatch-loads from the tugs' wheels slipping must have been massive. Use of a suitable sized tug or a winch would have resulted in a much smoother tow and vastly less stress on the towbar, even so, one has to wonder if towbars are rated for the sort of gradients found on ships' loading ramps. Do those towbars have fuse-pins? As the helo swings round at the end of he ramp there's something quite substantial flailing around and still attached to the nosegear.
Is that a proper CH53 towbar?
I used to have access to a number of NAVAIR pubs but I no longer do. The ground handling equipment specs should be known by the move crew.
The point you raise on "was that the right tug/tow bar for the job?" is a good one, and likely a topic for the incident investigating board. (Ground mishap, no fatalities, but an expensive mistake ...)
@JohnDixson: good point, but I'd hope that if this was a contract job, the due diligence would determine if the contractor has proper kit for the job. (GFE, CFE, etc...)