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Glasgow helicopter crash: operator grounds fleet over defect Glasgow helicopter crash: operator grounds fleet over defect
(about 1 hour later)
The model of helicopter that crashed on a Glasgow pub, killing nine people, has been grounded by operators after a defect was discovered on a recent flight. The operator of the helicopter involved in the fatal crash into a Glasgow pub has grounded its entire fleet in the UK after discovering a fault with its fuel lines.
Bond has grounded its fleet of 22 EC135 helicopters in the UK as a precaution while the issue is examined. Bond Air Services, the company that owned the Police Scotland aircraft that crashed killing nine people in late November, said it was taking all 22 of the Eurocopter EC135 T2 helicopters being used in the UK out of service as a precaution.
The Police Scotland helicopter that crashed into the roof of the Clutha Vaults bar in Glasgow on 29 November was a Bond-operated Eurocopter EC135 Type 2 aircraft. It found a fault in the fuel system of a North West air ambulance service helicopter on Wednesday. The Scottish ambulance service said both of its Eurocopter EC135s were affected by the grounding.
An initial report from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) issued this week said there was "no evidence of major mechanical disruption of either engine" of the Police Scotland helicopter as it returned from an operation in Dalkeith, Midlothian, on the night of the crash. There were reports that Bond had grounded the same type worldwide, affecting 38 Eurocopter EC135 T2s in total.
A statement from the company said: "During normal operations yesterday, one of our EC135 fleet has experienced an indication defect that requires further technical investigation. Eurocopter, the manufacturer, said the grounding did not apply to EC135 T2s operating in the UK that were not owned by Bond, a total of 57 aircraft.
The move comes only a few days after the Air Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) said it had found no mechanical or equipment failures on the Eurocopter that "dropped like a stone" on top of the Clutha Vaults pub in central Glasgow.
The initial report by the AAIB said it had recovered 95 litres of fuel from the aircraft, which was returning from a long flight to Dalkeith near Edinburgh via South Lanarkshire and North Lanarkshire, and was just over two miles from its helipad when it crashed.
In two statements issued on Thursday, Bond said: "During normal operations yesterday, one of our EC135 fleet has experienced an indication defect that requires further technical investigation.
"Therefore as a precautionary measure we have temporarily suspended service operations whilst we undertake detailed diagnosis. We commenced investigations overnight, are continuing this morning and are in close liaison with Eurocopter regarding this investigation.""Therefore as a precautionary measure we have temporarily suspended service operations whilst we undertake detailed diagnosis. We commenced investigations overnight, are continuing this morning and are in close liaison with Eurocopter regarding this investigation."
It added later that those tests were continuing, adding in a further short statement that it had grounded all 38 helicopters of that model worldwide.
The Scottish ambulance service said: "The safety of patients and air ambulance staff is the number one priority and Bond has taken the decision following a reported technical fault on one of the company's EC135s operating outside Scotland.
"Until the matter is resolved, the Scottish ambulance service is operating normal contingency measures whereby any patient that requires transfer by air will be taken by coastguard and military helicopters, Scotland's charity air ambulance helicopter or SAS fixed-wing aircraft."
In May last year, Bond grounded its EC135 models used by the Scottish ambulance service, Strathclyde police (now merged into Police Scotland) and the Northern Lighthouse Board after a safety warning about the aircraft's lower hub shaft flange. They all returned to service soon afterwards.
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