|
Sea King fleet severely restricted
Investigators were examining the engines and gear boxes on two Sea King helicopters Thursday after the aircraft lost power in flight, forcing the military to restrict the fleetâs flying time to only critical missions. For one of the few times in its troubled 40-year history, the aircraft were ordered to stand down and not fly any non-operational flights. The six now able to take to the air in Halifax and the remaining Sea Kings in British Columbia will not be able to conduct routine training missions, but can still respond to emergencies. Oh, thatâs real nice. That could change as early as Friday if engineers find enough similarities between the two mishaps to warrant a complete grounding of the geriatric fleet. "If the incidents were linked it might point to a broader fleet-wide issue," Lt.-Col. Bruce Ploughman, operations officer of the Sea King fleet at Halifaxâs Shearwater base, said in a sprawling hanger containing nine of the helicopters. The unusual measure comes after the two aircraft reported similar power failures in two separate incidents more than a month apart. On Sept. 23, a Sea King was practising landings on the deck of HMCS Iroquois when there was an imbalance in the amount of power the engines were producing. The sudden loss caused the aircraft to fall more than a metre to the shipâs deck. None of the crew was injured. On Monday, another Sea King was on a training exercise outside Halifax when it temporarily lost power, causing it to dip before continuing to fly. Sounds like a trend to me. Lt.-Col. Dave Mason, commanding officer of the fleetâs flight maintenance, said specialists were zeroing in on the fuel content, the fuel delivery to the engines, and the performance of the engines and gear boxes. They were also looking at the way the engines and gear boxes were installed and maintained, since both helicopters came from the same hangar and might have been subject to flawed service. The General Electric engine and Sikorsky gear boxes were both updated within the last five years and have about 30,000 flying hours combined, something Ploughman said rules out the common criticism levelled against Sea Kings. "They have been upgraded so this in no way reflects on the age of the Sea King," he said as a colleague stood nearby wearing a badge with a picture of the aircraft and a message - Flying Yesterdayâs Aircraft Tomorrow. That shows confidence in your aircraft. In Ottawa, the opposition seized on the latest problems with the Sea Kings by criticizing Prime Minister Jean Chretien for acquiring jets for his use while the Forces have been beset by problems with aging equipment. "Can the prime minister explain why it took him only one day to get new Challenger jets for himself when he wanted them and after 10 years our military people donât have the military helicopters they need?" Canadian Alliance Leader Stephen Harper said in the House of Commons. Humm, because he thinks more of himself than of those crude brutes in uniform? Posted by: Steve 2003-10-31 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=20618 |