Cyclic Hotline
10th Nov 1999, 11:48
Attack Helicopters to Be Grounded for up to 10 Months
WASHINGTON (AP) -- More than half the Army's 743 Apache attack helicopters will be grounded for several months to replace tail rotor bearings blamed in a crash early this year, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
When the Army disclosed Friday that it would inspect the full fleet of Apaches to determine which carried the defective bearing assemblies, it did not mention how long the grounded copters would be out of action. It said it anticipated "no problems with readiness" in the fleet.
Asked for additional details Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman P.J. Crowley said nearly all 743 Apaches had been inspected and that about 400 will require bearing replacements. He said it will take eight to 10 months to get all the aircraft back in operation. And because there are too few spare bearings in Army stocks to complete the work, the manufacturer will have to restart production.
Crowley said it could take as long as three months for first deliveries of the new-production bearings.
"We will have substantial numbers of these helicopters that will not fly for the next three months or so as they accelerate the production of these replacement bearing assemblies," Crowley said.
The Apache, made by Boeing Co., is the Army's best attack helicopter.
Crowley said the Apaches operating in Bosnia, Kosovo, the Persian Gulf and South Korea will be given priority in the repair work, "so that we don't expect any major impact on the key operations that the Army is currently involved in."
The groundings will slow the pace of training at domestic Army bases, however, Crowley said.
The replacement work is expected to cost about $13.5 million, the spokesman said.
The decision to inspect the full fleet was made when the Army recently determined that the bearing was the cause of an Apache crash last January at Fort Rucker, Ala., in which the helicopter was destroyed and the two-man crew suffered minor injuries. Investigators determined that a heating process used by Boeing to make the bearing assembly extra hard led to stress corrosion fractures in the bearing.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- More than half the Army's 743 Apache attack helicopters will be grounded for several months to replace tail rotor bearings blamed in a crash early this year, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
When the Army disclosed Friday that it would inspect the full fleet of Apaches to determine which carried the defective bearing assemblies, it did not mention how long the grounded copters would be out of action. It said it anticipated "no problems with readiness" in the fleet.
Asked for additional details Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman P.J. Crowley said nearly all 743 Apaches had been inspected and that about 400 will require bearing replacements. He said it will take eight to 10 months to get all the aircraft back in operation. And because there are too few spare bearings in Army stocks to complete the work, the manufacturer will have to restart production.
Crowley said it could take as long as three months for first deliveries of the new-production bearings.
"We will have substantial numbers of these helicopters that will not fly for the next three months or so as they accelerate the production of these replacement bearing assemblies," Crowley said.
The Apache, made by Boeing Co., is the Army's best attack helicopter.
Crowley said the Apaches operating in Bosnia, Kosovo, the Persian Gulf and South Korea will be given priority in the repair work, "so that we don't expect any major impact on the key operations that the Army is currently involved in."
The groundings will slow the pace of training at domestic Army bases, however, Crowley said.
The replacement work is expected to cost about $13.5 million, the spokesman said.
The decision to inspect the full fleet was made when the Army recently determined that the bearing was the cause of an Apache crash last January at Fort Rucker, Ala., in which the helicopter was destroyed and the two-man crew suffered minor injuries. Investigators determined that a heating process used by Boeing to make the bearing assembly extra hard led to stress corrosion fractures in the bearing.