Fleet Check Reveals Flaw in 1 Sea Knight Copter
Inspection of all 291 CH 46 Sea Knight helicopters in the Navy and Marine Corps found only one with a flaw of the kind that triggered a temporary grounding of the fleet, officials said.
The full fleet has been returned to service.
The Navy Air Systems Command ordered the grounding Monday as a precaution after discovery of a crack in a rotor component of a Sea Knight at the Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station in North Carolina.
A similar problem was found Wednesday in a CH 46 deployed aboard the amphibious assault ship Belleau Wood in the Persian Gulf area, said Ward Carroll, a spokesman for the command. The part was replaced and the chopper was returned to service, along with the rest of the fleet that underwent inspection, he said.
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