Aircraft Have Been Grounded Since July 2016 Accident

Bell Helicopter has confirmed that there will be a delay in the certification of its 525 Relentless helicopter due to a fatal accident involving one of its test aircraft last July.

The company says that the two remaining flight test aircraft have been grounded since the accident pending the release of the NTSB's probable cause report. Two test pilots were fatally injured when the test aircraft went down on July 6, 2016. Bell has not even performed ground runs of the aircraft since the accident.

Larry Thimmesch, vice-president of 525 sales and business development said that the five-year certification window with the FAA expired late last year. That has been extended for two years, taking the program to the end of 2018.

Thimmesch said that Bell has made modifications to its two remaining flight test aircraft to facilitate the quick resumption of the flight test program once the NTSB has released its findings. He also said that Bell remains "very committed" to the Relentless program.

Another two aircraft are in final assembly, Thimmesch said, while the two existing aircraft are being upgraded to bring them to production-standard configuration.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.bellhelicopter.com