Stratford-based Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. says a precautionary gearbox retrofit is nearly complete on most of the S-92 helicopter fleet worldwide following the March 12 fatal crash of an offshore oil transport chopper off the coast of Newfoundland.
Sikorsky said that operators of the more than 50 of the 91 S-92 helicopters in service already have complied with the company’s notice to retrofit the aircraft’s gearbox oil bowl with steel mounting studs.
The company said it expects to have close to 100 percent compliance by the end of this week. Sikorsky is a subsidiary of Hartford-based United Technologies Corp.
Sikorsky said it contacted all S-92 helicopter operators on March 20 after broken titanium studs were found during the Canadian helicopter crash investigation. Sikorsky has made available all the parts and tools necessary for operators to swap out the studs.
Sikorsky said it notified the operators as a safety precaution, and the Federal Aviation Administration is expected to issue an airworthiness directive instructing the retrofit.
Sikorsky is assisting in the ongoing investigation, and no determination has been made that the broken studs contributed to the accident or if they resulted from it, the company said. The crash killed 17 people.
Roughly two-thirds of the S-92s belong to offshore oil customers, Sikorsky said. The rest perform search and rescue and passenger transport.
