Outhouse
Yesterday’s Globe and Mail ran another article on this accident and details were posted on Rotorheads.
The article contained the following statement from the manufacturer which was also posted on Rotorheads yesterday;
Sikorsky spokesman Paul Jackson said yesterday that the company is still working on a design that would allow the Canadian Forces' militarized version of the same helicopter to cope with a gearbox oil leak.
"We are designing a system to meet the program requirements and will test and enhance it as necessary," Mr. Jackson said in an e-mail.
"I can't publicly describe this technology for competitive reasons, but Sikorsky will verify compliance of the [MH-92] to all requirements prior to aircraft delivery to the Canadian Forces," he said.
The 2004 contract called for the new helicopter to meet the 30-minute run-dry capability.
Now as I read it and if the information in the article is correct, then
'you know who’ has been contracted by the end customer since 2004 to install and certify a system on the MH-92 that can cope with a serious gearbox leak prior to delivery.
As delivery is not now scheduled until late 2010 and the MH-92 is currently flying on an experimental certificate prior to certification by the authorities (I stand to be corrected if wrong on any of these points), then I don’t see how
'you know who’ can be accused of rushing around like headless chickens looking for an emergency fix on this platform.
The statement above clearly suggests that a solution is in-hand, but not yet concluded, as is likely the case on many systems on any experimental platforms, including the MH-92.
So, if the information in the article is correct the answers to your questions are as follows:
1. Yes. Because it was stipulated in the contract some 5-years ago.
2. In spite of not knowing the outcome of any investigation, but knowing what we do in hindsight and also that a solution is underway on a military sister ship, I think you could likely figure this one out for yourself.
Note: If as you suggest not having a 30-minute Run Dry Gearbox is a failing, then I guess most of the platforms operated in the offshore oil industry should be tarred with this brush. Some platform designs have after all been in service for 40-years and more (plenty of time to come up with a fix), so why not include them as well?