Sea Kings cleared to fly after accident
The Sea King helicopter fleet has been given the green light to fly after a crash on Monday.
It had been grounded after a helicopter struck the tarmac at a Canadian Forces Base near Halifax with its rotors.
“I am grateful that none of our personnel were injured in this incident,” Maj.-Gen. Pierre St-Amand, commander of 1 Canadian Air Division, said in a statement. “Now that we have ruled out any airworthiness concerns for the Sea King fleet, these aircraft can return to the skies continuing their legacy of distinguished service to Canada.”
The Department of National Defence says the accident is still being investigated and that “confidence in the Sea King remains high and our crew members are looking forward to resuming the many i mportant missions they conduct every day.”
The Sikorsky CH-124 Sea King “shipboard” helicopters are 50 years old, first purchased under the reign of late prime minister John Diefenbaker to specialize in hunting for submarines. They now need 30 hours of maintenance for every hour in the air, and they are in the sick bay hangar 40% of the time.