Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Australian Black Hawks return to the skies after grounding


Australian Army Blackhawk

After a temporary suspension of flying operations for the Australian Army's Sikorsky S-70A-9 Black Hawk helicopters since the 19th of January upon the discovery of a number of fractured bolts during a routine maintenance check, the fleet has returned to full flying operations following the lifting of the suspension.

A thorough engineering investigation was carried out following the discovery of the defective bolts, and results have indicated that the defective bolts were confined to a single manufacturer’s batch and were not a fleet wide issue. The defective batch of bolts has been quarantined from use.

The Australian Army currently operates The Australian Army operates 34 Black Hawk aircraft. Of that fleet, three are deployed to Timor Leste, and the remaining aircraft are based in Holsworthy Barracks in New South Wales and Townsville, Queensland.

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