Germany ends NH90 grounding

[gortje]

Germany ends NH90 grounding

Germany has lifted a grounding order on its NH90 Tactical Transport Helicopter (TTH) fleet, the country's ministry of defence said on 23 February.
"The Armed Forces Aviation Office recommended to the inspector of the army the gradual resumption of NH90 operations," the ministry said. "
The inspector of the army has concurred with the recommendation."
NHIndustries (NHI), the manufacturer of the NH90, had recommended that the fleet resume operations following a 17-day grounding that stemmed from a June 2014 incident, in which a German Army NH90 operating in Uzbekistan reportedly suffered a short circuit in its Over-Head Control Panel (OHCP). The short circuit triggered the engine's firefighting system.
"Industry has assessed there is no short-term airworthiness issue and therefore recommends to continue flights," a spokesman for Airbus Helicopters told IHS Jane's on 23 February."
NHI is launching a modification in order to improve design." Airbus is the major stakeholder of NHI.
"Based on safety analysis and in line with regulations, NHI has distributed the information and recommendation […] to all NH90 customers through an Airworthiness Follow-up Sheet (AFS) and a Service Bulletin," the spokesman added.
While NHI develops long-term technical improvements to the OHCP, the Bundeswehr (the German armed forces) has introduced special safety procedures, such as venting before every engine start to rule out preliminary damage, in order to allow Interim Operations of the NH90.
The German Army has to date received 13 out of its order for 82 NH90 TTH helicopters.

Source: http://www.janes.com/article/49415/germ ... -grounding