New Zealand News

Mystery Cracks Ground Iroquois

Mysterious metal cracks grounded half the RNZAF’s Iroquois helicopters in June and had engineers puzzling over the cause. The cracks were discovered during routine maintenance and were in the main spar of the tail at the point where it joins the tail boom. Seven of the service’s 13 aircraft were effected some with severe cracking. ‘

A check with the manufacturers, Bell, failed to turn up any cases anywhere else and drew a blank on available repair kits. The service returned two aircraft to the air by replacing the complete tail assemblies, but engineers were looking for a permanent fix – or even a temporary ‘quick patch’ repair.

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