Order To Ground The Aircraft Lifted By CASA

Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has lifted its order to ground some Robinson R44 helicopters in that country following a fatal accident in New Zealand.

The aircraft with a certain type of main rotor blade had been grounded last Saturday after it appeared that an R44 had suffered a main rotor blade failure leading to an accident in which two people were fatally injured in New Zealand. However, CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said that a more detailed analysis of the aircraft that went down had been conducted this week.

"It is apparent that the main rotor blade on that aircraft did not fail in flight and was damaged when the aircraft crashed," Gibson said. "So that means that aircraft isn't relevant in consideration of this issue. We've now got a detailed inspection procedure in place so pilots, before they go flying in their R44, have a look at the main rotor blades."

The Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC) reports that there are 485 R44 helicopters registered in Australia. They have now been cleared to return to flight status. The aircraft are commonly used for ranching, survey work, and tourist flights.

(Image of U.S. Registered R44 from file)

FMI: www.casa.gov.au