Airbus Helicopter Crash Probe Narrows In on Component Failure -- Update
May 27 2016 - 6:17PM
Dow Jones News
By Robert Wall
Norwegian investigators probing the crash of an Airbus Group SE
helicopter off the west coast of Norway in April are focusing on
possible failures of some components linked to the rotor
system.
The Accident Investigation Board Norway, or AIBN, on Friday said
failure of the housing of the main gearbox, a gear called the
epicyclic module and a suspension bar that helps hold the rotor in
place are being considered as possible causes for the April 29
crash of the Airbus EC225, also called the Super Puma.
Airbus late Friday said only the failure of the suspension bar
seemed a probable scenario given current evidence. However, the
helicopter maker added that it was still unknown what might have
caused such a failure.
The chopper flown by CHC Helicopter Services crashed en route to
Norway's Bergen Airport from Statoil ASA's Gullfaks B oil field,
killing all 13 people onboard.
Air-accident investigators said discussions with Airbus
representatives led them to focus on those parts. They are facing
obstacles to determining what happened to the helicopter, as some
parts considered vital to the probe still haven't been recovered,
the AIBN said.
Data from the helicopter's so called black box showed everything
normal during the flight until a catastrophic failure occurred
within 1 second to 2 seconds, causing the rotor to detach.
The French air-accident office, the BEA, which is aiding the
probe was able to extract additional information from another
memory unit to glean further data, the AIBN said, and this is now
being analyzed.
Some of the wreckage that has been collected is being subjected
to detailed metallurgical assessment, the AIBN said, adding those
efforts are at an early stage. "So far, these examinations have not
identified a conclusive primary cause of the accident."
Norwegian and British air-safety regulators imposed a ban on all
EC225 passenger flights, though Airbus said it saw no reason to
ground the model.
Airbus and the European Aviation Safety Agency have since called
for emergency inspections of EC225 helicopters.
Airbus EC225s have been involved in previous incidents linked to
problems with the main gearbox. However, Airbus said early evidence
suggest last month's accident had a different cause, based on its
investigators' findings.
CHC Group, which was financially struggling already before the
crash, on May 5 filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Write to Robert Wall at robert.wall@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 27, 2016 19:02 ET (23:02 GMT)
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