Fra en kilde har jeg mottatt denne saken. Jeg skulle gjerne visst hva SHT mener om dette. Uansett så har det vært veldig kynisk av Airbus Helicopters å markedsføre og selge typen frem til nå. Ikke nok med det, men Airbus burde vært like grundige etter 2009 ulykken utenfor Skotland hvor nøyaktig det samme skjedde. (Red.)
Airbus Helicopters finds root cause of Turoy H225 crash
Airbus Helicopters finds root cause of Turoy H225 crash
·
11 September, 2019 - SOURCE:
FlightGlobal.com
·
BY: Dominic Perry
·
Marseille
Airbus Helicopters is confident that it has
identified the root cause of the main gearbox (MGB) failure behind the fatal
2016 crash of an H225 in Norway.
All 13 occupants of the
heavy-twin (LN-OJF) died in the incident after the main rotor separated from the
aircraft at 2,000ft as it approached Bergen on the country's west coast.
SHT
In its final report in July
2018, Norwegian investigators determined that a second-stage planet gear in the
MGB's epicyclic module had failed due to sub-surface cracking and fracture of a
bearing race. However, they were unable to say what had triggered the event.
"The investigation has
shown that the combination of material properties, surface treatment, design,
operational loading environment and debris gave rise to a failure mode which
was not previously anticipated or assessed," the report says.
But the airframer has continued
its own analysis of the event, says H225 programme director Michel Macia,
leading to identification of the root cause and a successful replication of the
failure in testing. That work has been externally validated, he says.
Findings from that effort were
subsequently shared with Norway's SHT accident investigation body, regulators
including the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, and other manufacturers,
says Macia.
"Everyone now knows that
the root cause is understood and has been reproduced," says Macia.
Although he declines to detail
the failure, he says the safety barriers put in place to enable the H225 to
return to service deal with the underlying issue.
These measures include a
heightened inspection regime, shorter life limits on components and –
significantly – the exclusion of one of the two different bearing designs used
on the helicopter.
The H225 and the related AS332
L2 were grounded for four months following the crash, and although both are now
cleared for service, they have yet to be brought back to operation in the North
Sea region for offshore transport.
While that is largely due to overcapacity
in the sector, there remains significant opposition from the oil and gas
workforce to the H225.
But Airbus Helicopters chief
executive Bruno Even still believes the rotorcraft can make a comeback in the
North Sea and says the aircraft needs "time" to achieve acceptance.
"We are doing all that we
are able to do, but in the end, it is the customer who has to decide.
"There is a strong dynamic
in the market and that convinces me that we are doing the right thing,"
says Even, pointing to continued H225 sales – particularly of the military
variant – and an ongoing effort to "repurpose" former offshore-roled
examples.
"The success of the
repurposing is an incredible demonstration of versatility unparalleled in the
heavy helicopter segment," says Even.
Of the 130 helicopters affected,
51 are contracted for new roles – predominantly as utility aircraft – while a
further 40 are "in plan", says Macia.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority says its
position on the H225 has not changed and it has yet to receive an application
from an operator to resume H225 passenger flights in the country.
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