Call to replace faulty part on Sikorsky choppers coming: FAA
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said Saturday it is moving to issue a call to replace a key part on Sikorsky S-92A helicopters like the one that crashed off the coast of Newfoundland last week.
"We are shooting for Monday to put out an airworthiness directive that would order replacement of those titanium studs with steel studs before the next flight," FAA spokesman Les Dorr told the Canadian Press an interview from Washington, D.C.
"They do have to do the work before the next flight once we put the airworthiness directive out, and whatever the effective date is, assuming it's immediate."
Transport Safety Board of Canada investigators discovered the broken mounting stud on the helicopter's main gearbox filter bowl when they started their examination of the helicopter wreckage on Friday.
Seventeen people were killed when the Cougar Helicopters Sikorsky S92-A crashed into Atlantic Ocean, about 55 kilometres southeast of St. John's.
Preliminary investigations indicate the helicopter slammed into the water nose-first.
Robert Decker, 27, is the sole survivor. He is recovering from severe injuries and was still not well enough Friday to be interviewed by the RCMP about the crash.
Directive targeted at U.S. helicopters
Dorr said Saturday that the directive will be targeted at U.S-registered helicopters only, and that other international regulators will have to determine their own actions.
"We tell the international community what it is that we're planning to do, and presumably they will take the same or similar action," he said.
TSB investigator Mike Cunningham told CBC News that his organization has flagged the broken bolt found in the Sikorsky wreckage for other organizations.
The stud, if broken, he said, could cause the helicopter to lose oil pressure and eventually lose control. It still hasn't been determined if the stud had a role in the crash.
The Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation had been aware of problems with its mounting studs. On Jan. 28, the U.S. manufacturer issued an alert saying that the titanium mounting studs should be replaced by steel studs on every helicopter within a year, or within 1,250 flight hours.
Sikorsky spokesman Paul Jackson told CBC News on Friday that the company is assisting in the investigation, but cannot comment further while the probe is still ongoing.
With files from the Canadian Press