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US Army grounds its helicopters over engine fires

Following fuel-related fires that started, the entire Chinook fleet was shut down by the military.

After discovering that a defective part caused fuel leakage, which led to engine fires, the US Army grounded its flagship helicopter, the Boeing CH-47 Chinook.

All approximately 400 of the Chinook heavy-lift helicopters in the army’s global inventory will be grounded until the fuel-leak issue is resolved, an army spokeswoman said in a statement. “While no deaths or injuries occurred, the army temporarily grounded the H-47 fleet out of an abundance of caution, until those corrective actions are complete,”Cynthia Smith spokeswoman. “The safety of our soldiers is the army’s top priority, and we will ensure our aircraft remain safe and airworthy.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, more than 70 Chinooks were affected by the defective part during routine maintenance. This defect led to a “small number”Engine fires are a common occurrence in “isolated number”A military official was quoted by the newspaper as having said that helicopters are dangerous.

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Honeywell International makes the T55 engines that power these helicopters. According to the defense contractor, it investigated engine fires and discovered that O-ring gaskets were not up to standard. This was during maintenance at an army depot. The company added that it’s working with the army to supply replacement gaskets on the affected Chinooks.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the lack of Chinooks may pose an issue depending on the length of the shutdown. “logistical challenges”For US soldiers. For the Army, the Chinook is its only heavy-lift cargo helicopter. Special forces also use the MH-47 Chinook variant powered by the T55.

Over six decades of service, the iconic Chinook has carried cargo and soldiers over battlefields from Vietnam to Afghanistan. The US Military’s most embarrassing images include the CH-47. It was used for evacuations of embassy personnel during the 1975 fall of Saigon, which fell to communist forces, and last year, when Kabul fell to the Taliban.



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