Army pilots stage mutiny over chopper fears

EXCLUSIVE by Ian McPhedran, defence writer
News Limited Network
December 05, 2012

DOZENS of Army pilots have conducted a mini-mutiny by going on "strike'' and refusing to fly new Tiger attack helicopters after aircrew were hit by cockpit fumes for the third time this year.

The latest emergency occurred at the Cultana military training area in South Australia on November 4 after earlier incidents in March and July. The fleet was not grounded after the third incident.

"The crew applied the standard procedure for smoke or fumes in the cockpit and landed safely at El Alamein Airfield,'' Defence told News Limited.

Pilots were angered by the decision not to suspend flying and aircrew from the Darwin-based 1st Aviation Regiment voted against flying, effectively a mutiny, until all safety concerns were addressed.

The emergency was isolated to the air conditioning unit of a single European built and Brisbane assembled Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH).

Tiger flying was "suspended'' in March and July this year due to cockpit fumes and since 2007 the aircraft has recorded 24 "fume incidents'' which is on a par with other military aircraft.

Defence refused to acknowledge that pilots had actually refused to fly and put the lack of flying down to "a prolonged period in the field and absence from home''.

It did acknowledge aircrew concerns and said a lull in activity was not unusual during "maintenance reset and administration catch-up on return to the unit''.

"Steps being taken by the Chain of Command to address 1st Aviation Regiment aircrew concerns have the full support of the aircrew,'' Defence said.

The army is still flying its Tiger training aircraft at Oakey in southern Queensland and other nations including Germany and France, that chalked up 4000 Tiger hours in Afghanistan, continue to operate the machines.

The Army's 22 Tigers (16 in Darwin) were built by European giant EADS and its subsidiary Eurocopter and assembled in Brisbane by Australian Aerospace at a cost of $2 billion.

A well-placed source said many military pilots were shocked that army pilots were allowed to vote not to fly effectively defying senior officers who judged the aircraft safe to operate.

"Usually you have to fight to stop military pilots from flying,'' a source said.

Defence confirmed that the 1st Aviation Regiment fleet had not flown since the incident at Cultana Training Area on November 4.

"There has been no scheduled operational flying of the ARH aircraft by the 1st Aviation Regiment in Darwin since the fumes incident at Cultana,'' it said.

During the emergency, the two-person crew of the tandem Tiger Helicopter had to open small weather windows inside the cramped cockpit as they conducted a sideslip manoeuvre to rapidly circulate air and dissipate the acrid fumes.

In the second incident in July, the window was jammed shut after not being checked during pre-flight inspections so the crew was forced to take the risky step of blowing the canopy off to ventilate the cockpit.

The source of the fumes in the first two incidents has been identified as a faulty capacitor in older models of a power module in the aircraft's multi-function display system.

It is understood a dud air conditioning unit was responsible for the Cultana event and it was isolated to a single aircraft - number 05 off the production line.

According to whistleblowers, safety concerns have prompted several pilots to commence discharge procedures.

In the past year, 22 helicopter pilots have left the army including two from the 1st Aviation Regiment.

Last September, the officer in command of the 1st Aviation Regiment's 162 Reconnaissance Squadron, Major Hayden Archibald, told News Limited that he would love to go to Afghanistan with the Tigers.

The Army was criticised during the inquiry into the death in Afghanistan of pilot Lieutenant Marcus Case where air force investigators highlighted examples of Army's inability to meet operational airworthiness regulations.

Unlike the Navy and RAAF the Army's operational airworthiness authority is non-pilot anmd Forces Commander Major General Mick Slater.


EUROCOPTER ARH "AUSSIE'' TIGER HELICOPTER

* Armed reconnaissance attack helicopter built from 80 per cent carbon fibre

* Two-person crew in tandem configuration equipped with helmet mounted sights

* Hellfire anti-armour missiles, 70mm rockets, 30mm cannon, armoured cabin

* Integrated laser sensors

* Cost about $70 million