(Ottawa) The Canadian Armed Forces Air Branch Commander expressed concern about the recent discovery of cracks in the tails of most new Army Cyclone helicopters and the need for “non-standard” repairs for each aircraft, but he says he has faith in the fleet.
The cracks are the latest in a growing list of issues with the Cyclones, including a software glitch that caused one of the helicopters off the coast of Greece to crash last year, killing all six servicemen on board.
In an exclusive interview with The Canadian Press, Lt. Gen. Al Meinzinger said the cause of the tail cracks is still under investigation, but revealed that each of the 19 of the 23 Cyclone helicopters affected by the problem requires different types of repairs.
“They’re not standard in the sense that every plane is slightly different,” he said. So certainly [je suis] concerned that we need to do a non-standard repair and these cracks have been detected. ”
Three of the Cyclones have been repaired since the issue was first discovered two weeks ago, while Lt. Gen. Meinzinger said four more helicopters are expected to resume flying by the end of the week. However, he could not say when the rest of the fleet will be repaired.
A spokesperson for Sikorsky Aircraft, which builds the Cyclone, explained that the repairs involved removing damaged sections and installing new parts, mostly aluminum sheet and standard hardware.
“Further inspections and repairs, as needed, are implemented to avoid larger repairs if the cracks spread in size,” John Dorrian wrote in an email.
“These cracks are not found in the main structural load components of the airframe and therefore do not pose an immediate safety hazard,” he added.
Yet despite the cracks and several other issues, Lt. Gen. Meinzinger expressed his continued confidence in the Cyclones through the Air Force’s inspection and maintenance procedures as well as the technicians who initially discovered the Cyclones. cracks.
“I still have great confidence in the aircraft, its capacity, because I have great confidence in the people who manage it and oversee the day-to-day operations,” he said. And we have an exceptionally robust security program. ”
Cyclones are typically deployed aboard Canadian frigates and used for search and rescue, surveillance, and anti-submarine warfare.
Helicopters began performing real missions in 2018 after nearly two decades of problems and development delays.
Sikorsky Aircraft has yet to deliver the 28 helicopters ordered by Canada, at a total cost of $ 3.1 billion, and has yet to upgrade the software of those it has delivered to meet military requirements.
The fleet has seen a number of incidents in recent years, including the crash of the Stalker 22 in the Ionian Sea in April 2020, which two separate investigations subsequently attributed to an issue with the autopilot.
Corporal Matthew Cousins, Second Lieutenant Abbigail Cowbrough, Captain Kevin Hagen, Captain Brenden MacDonald, Captain Maxime Miron-Morin and Second Lieutenant Matthew Pyke died in the crash.
While experts have since called for the autopilot to be repaired without delay, which Lt. Gen. Meinzinger says is a priority, he said Defense Ministry officials and Sikorsky Aircraft would not understand the full scope of the repairs. required before the new year.
In the meantime, the Defense Ministry said the plane was being modified to make pilots more attentive when using the autopilot and to provide more warning signals to the crew.
One of the helicopters in the fleet also crashed suddenly during a test flight in March 2017, while another made a hard landing in February 2019. And last April, a Cyclone was forced make an emergency landing in a Halifax park before being towed to base.