Going Boeing
17th May 2007, 12:07
Sea Kings grounded over safety fears
Mark Dodd
May 17, 2007
ALL six of Navy's ageing Sea King helicopters have been grounded over safety concerns about missing parts discovered during routine maintenance a fortnight ago.
Defence said yesterday it expected the helicopters to be flying again by the end of the month.
The Westland Sea Kings entered service in 1975 but were grounded two years ago when an aircraft operating off HMAS Kanimbla crashed on the Indonesian island of Nias killing nine people during tsunami relief operations.
The crash was blamed on mechanical and maintenance failures by the navy.
In the latest incident two “split pins” were found to be missing during a pre-flight inspection of a Sea King.
A missing split pin used to secure a “bell crank” in the control system of Sea King Shark Two is believed to have caused Nias crash.
Australian Navy Sea Kings played a major role in relief operations following the Indian Ocean Tsunami ferrying medical teams, and vital first aid supplies from ships standing off-shore near the devasted northern province of Aceh.
Navy strongly denied the tragedy was due to the age of its Sea King helicopter fleet.
But in a statement yesterday, Navy said the missing parts were “not critical to flight safety.” However, as a precaution flight operations involving the Sea King squadron would be temporarily halted.
The grounding would not affect navy operations but would allow time for the defect to be fully investigated and all remaining aircraft checked.
“Navy takes this matter very seriously and has initiated a full investigation to determine the cause.
“This precautionary suspension of flying underscores Navy's ongoing commitment to the safety of our people,” said Fleet Commander, Rear Admiral Davyd Thomas.
In an interim report into the 2005 crash, navy investigators found serious faults in Shark Two's mechanical flight control system.
Several Sea Kings were lost in the first five years of operation through loss of main gearbox oil.
In a scathing critique following the Nias crash, the Australian Defence Association lobby group, claimed the Sea Kings should have been replaced more than a decade ago.
“Despite avionics upgrades the Sea Kings should really have been replaced some 5-10 years ago as originally scheduled.
“The Navy's inability to do so is yet another result of our static or declining investment in defence capability,” it said.
The Sea Kings originally purchased for an anti-submarine role are now used as utility transports and will be replaced by the MRH-90.
Mark Dodd
May 17, 2007
ALL six of Navy's ageing Sea King helicopters have been grounded over safety concerns about missing parts discovered during routine maintenance a fortnight ago.
Defence said yesterday it expected the helicopters to be flying again by the end of the month.
The Westland Sea Kings entered service in 1975 but were grounded two years ago when an aircraft operating off HMAS Kanimbla crashed on the Indonesian island of Nias killing nine people during tsunami relief operations.
The crash was blamed on mechanical and maintenance failures by the navy.
In the latest incident two “split pins” were found to be missing during a pre-flight inspection of a Sea King.
A missing split pin used to secure a “bell crank” in the control system of Sea King Shark Two is believed to have caused Nias crash.
Australian Navy Sea Kings played a major role in relief operations following the Indian Ocean Tsunami ferrying medical teams, and vital first aid supplies from ships standing off-shore near the devasted northern province of Aceh.
Navy strongly denied the tragedy was due to the age of its Sea King helicopter fleet.
But in a statement yesterday, Navy said the missing parts were “not critical to flight safety.” However, as a precaution flight operations involving the Sea King squadron would be temporarily halted.
The grounding would not affect navy operations but would allow time for the defect to be fully investigated and all remaining aircraft checked.
“Navy takes this matter very seriously and has initiated a full investigation to determine the cause.
“This precautionary suspension of flying underscores Navy's ongoing commitment to the safety of our people,” said Fleet Commander, Rear Admiral Davyd Thomas.
In an interim report into the 2005 crash, navy investigators found serious faults in Shark Two's mechanical flight control system.
Several Sea Kings were lost in the first five years of operation through loss of main gearbox oil.
In a scathing critique following the Nias crash, the Australian Defence Association lobby group, claimed the Sea Kings should have been replaced more than a decade ago.
“Despite avionics upgrades the Sea Kings should really have been replaced some 5-10 years ago as originally scheduled.
“The Navy's inability to do so is yet another result of our static or declining investment in defence capability,” it said.
The Sea Kings originally purchased for an anti-submarine role are now used as utility transports and will be replaced by the MRH-90.