THE HUNGARIAN air force has been forced to ground its Mikoyan MiG-29A Fulcrum fighter aircraft following the discovery of a design fault which was leading to foreign-object damage (FOD).
Initial problems with the aircraft began to emerge shortly after the first Hungarian unit of Fulcrums was declared operational in September 1994. Foreign object-ingestion caused engine damage on three aircraft in a short space of time.
Following investigations into the cause of the damage, a rivet from one of the auxiliary intake slots on top of the leading-edge root extension was identified as the cause of the incident.
All Fulcrum, were found to suffer from a similar design problem, although the two-seat MiG-29UB trainers did not. A modifi- cation is now being implemented on the Fulcrum As. A second unit of MiG-29s, is expected to be declared operational, in September 1995.
The air force recently grounded its Sukhoi Su-22M3 Fitter ground-attack aircraft following the loss of a two-seat Su-22 trainer after an engine fire on take-off. After an investigation, Su-22 units were cleared to restart flying at the end of June.
Source: Flight International
