Mitchaa
n the initial report released last week for OJF , you can see a split planet gear in the pictures with a lot of that particular gear I presume still unrecovered? I don't think there's enough there to rule out epicyclic failure and lean towards suspension bar failure personally.
Kawijet
It makes sense - the gearcasing fractured at the point of the upper 2nd stage epicyclic module and thats where the gearbox parted with the MGB. Above this is the conical. So if the conical also parted the upper gear carrier would have fallen free of the rotorhead leaving the splined connector but that is not what you see in that photograph of the recovered rotorhead. It does not taper from the swashplate down to the splined rotor mast like in this instance, but looks the same width right down, due to the conical and upper module still in position.... Does that make sense?
I understand the failure mode of REDL and the consequent fracture and separation.
However, if there was an epicyclic failure of some kind with OJF, it may not be exactly the same failure mode, the separation may not therefore be identical to REDL?