Helicopter woes, Part 423

Meanwhile, back at our Sea Kings:

Money and equipment woes in the Canadian Forces are cited in an official report on the crash of a military Sea King off Denmark more than two years ago.

The Defence Department safety report says poor training because of a lack of workable helicopters and seaworthy ships contributed to the crash, from which five crew narrowly escaped with their lives.

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» Click here for the full report [good on the Chronicle Herald for including the link]

The report says there are not enough of the aged and rusting choppers in service at any one time — and not enough decks to land them on — to conduct the training needed to land safely at sea at night.

The document points to mistakes by both pilots in the moments before the crash.

"Contributory to these causes was an insidious combination of circumstances that led to a lowering of aircrew proficiency within the Sea King community," says the report by the Air Force Directorate of Flight Safety.

"Low aircraft serviceability coupled with fewer decks being available for night evolutions led to a situation where it became the norm for pilots to achieve only the absolute minimum levels of currency, vice the levels of proficiency commensurate with safe and effective flight operations."

The report’s recommendations include changes to pilots’ cur-rency requirements and their training. It also calls for improvements to life-support equipment.

All five crew aboard the Sea King escaped when the helicopter went down on final approach to HMCS Athabaskan on the night of Feb. 2, 2006...

The report says the pilots had the "absolute minimum" current training levels because of the shortage of serviceable aircraft and operational ships.

"Even though this (captain) is a highly experienced Sea King pilot, three-quarters of his missions during the last six months ashore were flown as a co-pilot," says the report.

The captain’s 2005 flying summary showed that monthly requirements were met only twice, and the report says he did not meet the minimum requirements for night flying hours in three of the previous four months.

The co-pilot met monthly flying requirements only once in 2005 and he did not meet the required total hours or night-flying hours in the month prior to the accident.

"The (co-pilot) was unable to rectify his night hour deficiency prior to embarking, however, the accident flight was intended to have rectified his night hour deficiency. . . . The (co-pilot’s) proficiency at night deck landings can be assessed as weak."

The report says the military has taken steps to "mitigate the effects of reduced flying rates," but it says flight simulators just don’t cut it [lack of flying time was the cause of a 2006 Cormorant accident].

"The main impediment to crew training has been the non-availability of serviceable aircraft" because of a lack of experienced maintenance crew and the fleet’s age [emphasis added], adds the report.

"Increased age has led to more extensive corrosion that necessitates more frequent and comprehensive repairs," it says. "The age of the aircraft also makes it more difficult to establish contracts for the manufacture and supply of replacement parts."

"Compounding (the) challenge is the reduced availability of HMC ships to provide training evolutions. Reduced sailing rates and long-term operational commitments . . . have resulted in a decrease in opportunities to practice [emphasis added]."

Since Ottawa bought 41 of them in 1963, the geriatric Sikorsky CH-124 Sea Kings have been whittled down to a couple of dozen by crashes, retirements and cannibalism as mechanics try to keep the dated fleet airborne with scavenged parts.

Delivery of the first of their 28 replacements, Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclones [an aircraft that has not flown yet], has been delayed to mid-2010 from its January 2009 target [more here--and here].

Good luck finding much money these days:

The spectre haunting the defence budget
The new Conservative government..

Chopper woes just don't stop:

Are our Comorants lemons?

Update: News from David Pugliese's blog (h/t to Evan):

CANADIAN CYCLONE HELICOPTER MAKES MAIDEN TEST FLIGHT

The first flight of MH01 occurred on Saturday (15 November 2008) at the Sikorsky’s West Palm Beach facility, according to sources. There was no press announcement.

The flight of the basic Cyclone maritime helicopter lasted 30 minutes. It was successful, according to sources.

This was a very basic aircraft. It did not have the MH integrated mission system (IMS) installed as that is still many months behind schedule.

The MH01 is at this point fitted with the GE CT7-8A engines but there are negotiations ongoing to install new more powerful engines...

One is managing, somehow, to contain one's enthusiasm.