Ongoing problems with Cormorants

Dear oh dear:

It will take years to fix a serious problem with Canada’s main search-and-rescue helicopter, say documents obtained by The Canadian Press.

Cracks in the hub assemblies of the CH-149 Cormorant’s tail rotors have led to flight restrictions on the 14 choppers, which often perform life-saving operations off the east and west coasts.

Defence Department documents, obtained under access to information laws, say a critical part is being re-engineered "under a high priority, but (is) still several years away" from a complete solution.

A Powerpoint presentation, dated October 2005, suggested the problem wouldn’t be solved for up to six years.

It is unclear how much the redesign will cost, if it will be covered by warranty, or whether taxpayers will foot the bill. Much of the information on cost overruns and maintenance is considered proprietary by the aircraft manufacturer and the company contracted to do maintenance, say defence experts.

The defect, combined with a shortage of spare parts and recently discovered corrosion problems, are a source of frustration for the new chief of air staff.

Lt.-Gen Angus Watt said the ongoing issues with the Cormorants have not affected search-and-rescue missions, but they continue to limit the number of aircraft available for ongoing training of crews.

"I need nine serviceable Cormorants every day . . . out of the fleet we have and I have yet to achieve that," Watt said in a recent interview with The Canadian Press.

"It’s getting better, but it’s not where I would like it."

Watt said the ongoing maintenance issues have meant he can only field six or seven rescue helicopters a day. Other helicopters in the air force inventory often make up the slack.

The redesign of the crucial part is "taking much longer than I would like," Watt added.

The Italian-made Cormorant helicopters are a relatively new addition to the search and rescue fleet, introduced in 2000 — at a cost of $779 million — to replace the 1960s-era Labrador helicopters...

...there’s been a chronic shortage of parts because the relatively new aircraft are burning through spares at an unexpectedly high rate. In July 2006, a Cormorant taking part in a search-and-rescue exercise with a Coast Guard auxiliary boat, crashed into the ocean off Canso, killing three crewmembers. A preliminary flight safety investigation ruled out the tail rotor as the cause of the accident, but has yet to assigned blame.

In signing an extended maintenance contract with Halifax-based IMP Aerospace a few weeks ago, new Defence Minister Peter MacKay praised the helicopters as reliable.

"They have proven their worth over and over again; I would say (they) are worth their weight in gold," MacKay said the announcement for the seven-year $591 million agreement.

One just hopes the Cyclone acquisition goes better and the first delivery is made on schedule in January, 2009. Remember, the CH-148 is a new aircraft, originally designed for civilian use. Canada is the launch customer of the naval version and the only purchaser of it so far as I can find.