All a bit close to home, same helicopter and same company that provides our offshore access.
Video I saw on this mornings news shows the main rotor fully intact but separate from the helicopter slowly spinning to earth. Very bizarre failure. They have an endemic gearbox lube oil problem that is mitigated for, but if a gearbox was to fail and seize you still shouldn't get a rotor departure like that.
The offshore worker in me is a bit concerned, the ex Aircraft Tech in me is very interested in hearing the failure cause.
Our are all grounded, and I'm due off in 4 days
Happiness is not a destination. It is a way of life.
The article touches on it towards the end, stating that this issue had been solved on that aircraft type...but it's the most obvious known problem on what is a fairly complicated drivetrain.
A case of 'problem reduced' may have been better terminology.
The article touches on it towards the end, stating that this issue had been solved on that aircraft type...but it's the most obvious known problem on what is a fairly complicated drivetrain.
A case of 'problem reduced' may have been better terminology.
The gearbox problem that was known and 'fixed' was a lube oil pump drive spool. They had a minor manufacturing fault which was causing them to shear and lose oil pressure. The auxiliary electric pumps then kick in to get you to a safe landing location, but the pressure switches on those were faulty, so even though they were getting good pressure they were getting an oil pressure low pressure fault indication, so procedure is to ditch before the gearbox fails and you plunge.
But all that has been fixed (new drive spools and upgraded pressure switches) along with tighter spec's on gearbox vibration real time monitoring.
This latest failure is obviously drivetrain related but it shouldn't be related to the previous issue.
Happiness is not a destination. It is a way of life.
kiwikrasher wrote:Video I saw on this mornings news shows the main rotor fully intact but separate from the helicopter slowly spinning to earth. Very bizarre failure. They have an endemic gearbox lube oil problem that is mitigated for, but if a gearbox was to fail and seize you still shouldn't get a rotor departure like that.....
But all that momentum force has to go somewhere Kk.??
If there is a catastrophic drivetrain failure, and the input side stops dead, I should expect that the stresses involved would far exceed any design loads that could conceivable be allowed for.?
kiwikrasher wrote:Video I saw on this mornings news shows the main rotor fully intact but separate from the helicopter slowly spinning to earth. Very bizarre failure. They have an endemic gearbox lube oil problem that is mitigated for, but if a gearbox was to fail and seize you still shouldn't get a rotor departure like that.....
But all that momentum force has to go somewhere Kk.??
If there is a catastrophic drivetrain failure, and the input side stops dead, I should expect that the stresses involved would far exceed any design loads that could conceivable be allowed for.?
absolutely, and I don't know these aircraft mechanically, but generally there would be a safety design aspect to prevent a rotor departing. That said, I've been trawling safety incidents and it's not the first time a Super Puma 225 has had that happen
Happiness is not a destination. It is a way of life.
Saw this yesterday and extremely tragic accident and terrible news to hear. Thirteen family's are grieving this morning and my heart goes out to them. Thoughts and prayers go out to 13 lost souls and their families. Rest in Peace and may this never happen again.
Blade wrote:Saw this yesterday and extremely tragic accident and terrible news to hear. Thirteen family's are grieving this morning and my heart goes out to them. Thoughts and prayers go out to 13 lost souls and their families. Rest in Peace and may this never happen again.
Absolutely mate, I heard a number of guys whinge about being stuck out here, the last time I couldn't help myself and said "would you rather met the fate of those poor 13 guys?". It's very easy to get the 'poor me's ' out here, but you have to keep a bit of perspective.
I'd hate my family to ever receive that news, and I've asked the ex not to mention it to the kids. If I'm late I'll just tell them I had to work back.
Happiness is not a destination. It is a way of life.
Hope your home safely and timely Kiwi. Hang in there buddy.
Ignore the moaners mate. There in every walk of life and not worth listening too. Better to be late and safe than potentially risk people's lives before a good understanding of what went wrong can be established.
They are working on that at the moment Cookie. The ones they could possibly get within a few days are too heavy for 2 out of 3 of the helipads we have in field which makes for some logistical mayhem and increase risk in boat transfers (personnel need to be crane lifted on and of the infield support vessels) but it's doable. Should get an update at the morning meeting today.
Happiness is not a destination. It is a way of life.
