A precautionary suspension placed on the Australian Army’s fleet of Black Hawk helicopters has been lifted, with the 34 machines returning to full flying operations.
The fleet was grounded on January 19 following the identification of a number of fractured bolts during a routine maintenance check. An engineering investigation indicated that the defective bolts were confined to a single manufacturer’s batch and were not a fleet wide issue. The defective batch of bolts has been quarantined from use.
The suspension was lifted by Commander of Forces Command, Major General Michael Slater, as the Operations Airworthiness Authority, following advice from the Technical Airworthiness Authority.
Navy Seahawks were not affected by the suspension, due to differences in the affected area.
