Crab, I guess you don't understand how signal averaging allows the extraction of the vibration relating to a specific element (shaft, gear etc) within a gearbox. I suggest you look it up!
So yes, the same could happen again if the early warning sign of a chip is ignored. In many ways debris monitoring (chip detection etc) and HUMS (detection of non-debris releasing defects) complement each other to cover most, but not all, eventualities.
Last edited by HeliComparator; 7th October 2012 at 22:43.