Accident places Merlin in programme hover
Douglas Barrie/LONDON
EH Industries is being forced to re-arrange its EH101 military utility/anti-submarine-warfare helicopter development and flight-test programme in an attempt to avoid a service-entry delay following an accident involving the PP7 prototype in August.
EH Industries members, GKN/ Westland and Agusta, have yet to return all of the remaining prototype and initial production aircraft to test flying following the accident.
GKN/Westland is flying the first production-standard aircraft for the Royal Navy, RN01. The aircraft is also being flown within a limited flight envelope. It expects the RN02 or possibly PP3, to be the next aircraft to be brought back into flight-testing.
The accident at Malpensa Airport in Italy followed the loss of pitch control during flight-testing. After recovering to the nearest airfield, the pilot attempted a roll-on landing, but the helicopter went onto its side, resulting in damage to both the rotor blades and airframe.
The damage has not resulted in the airframe being written off and Agusta is considering rebuilding it.
The incident was the third accident involving an EH101 prototype. Aircraft PP02 and PP04 have already been lost. The PP02 crashed as a result of a rotor-brake incident, while the PP04 was the victim of a control-rod failure.
In attempting to avoid any impact on delivery schedules, GKN/Westland says: "We are having to rejig the development programme-RN01 is the mission-systems aircraft, but it will also now be used for additional flying as part of the development programme."
The firm says that the PP07 incident has had "no impact to date on the project". An Italian board of inquiry has yet to release its full findings into the cause of the pitch control failure.
Source: Flight International
