Originally Posted by
industry insider
Regardless, 46 people have been killed as a result of gearbox issues since 2009. With technology available today, the industry should be able to do better.
Agreed.
The problem is both Manufacturer's Gearbox issues have a common denominator: Weight saving + a bit carry over of components from their predecessors. And that is driven by the cut- throat cost driven competition in O&G. When you bring a new type of Helicopter it has to be much more efficient than its predecessors and it mustn't cost twice as much. Unfortunately Helicopter Technology is so much matured that there are no easy gains any more. Only by shaving off every ounce possible an advantage can be generated. The difficulty is to foresee where it is one ounce too much saved. Both manufacturers found out the hard way now. Sikorsky was in so far lucky that their weak spot was easier to fix (at least the immediate cause -the Gears themselves remain too weak to work without Oil for much more than 10 minutes). Their airframe had more Greenfield portion where they were not limited by existing components. Coincidentally its Achilles heel is also the Element where things were carried over from the smaller Blackhawk.