casey Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 Belgium has temporarily withdrawn from service its 11 Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules transport aircraft due to safety concerns, national media reported on 9 June. The C-130H-variant aircraft operated by the Belgian Air Component (BAC) will remain grounded for two weeks while checks are carried out following repeated "abnormal functioning of flight controls", the Belga news agency quoted a military spokesperson as saying. Belgium has temporarily withdrawn from service its 11 Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules transport aircraft due to safety concerns, national media reported on 9 June. The C-130H-variant aircraft operated by the Belgian Air Component (BAC) will remain grounded for two weeks while checks are carried out following repeated "abnormal functioning of flight controls", the Belga news agency quoted a military spokesperson as saying. The BAC's C-130Hs are assigned to 20 Tactical Transport Squadron at Melsbroek Air Base, near Brussels, and are used for a range of airlift missions including support of Belgian Armed Forces deployments around the globe. Of the 12 C-130Hs that were acquired by Belgium in 1972, one was lost in 1996 and another destroyed by fire in 2006. One of these two lost aircraft was replaced in 2009 by a former US Air Force C-130E that had been upgraded to C-130H standard. Source: http://www.janes.com/article/71363/belgium-grounds-c-130s-over-safety-concerns View full article Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casey Posted June 16, 2017 Author Share Posted June 16, 2017 After a series of incidents with several platforms, the Belgian army has decided to ground its entire fleet of C-130 transport aircraft for two weeks. According to a military spokesman, the flight suspension of eleven C-130s is a result of "abnormal functioning of flight controls." Several incidents have occurred in recent weeks during the flights of the aircraft. However, since all platforms could eventually land safely, no damage could be measured. Nevertheless, the army decided to keep all C-130's grounded for a thorough investigation. During the suspension period, all parts of the air traffic control systems will be closely monitored: the mechanics, the electronics and the hydraulic systems. The Belgian army employed the C-130s in 1972 and 1973. The successors, seven Airbus A400M aircraft ordered in 2003, are not expected by the end of 2019. Source: http://en.c4defence.com/Archive/c130-fleet-under-investigation/4527/1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casey Posted July 9, 2017 Author Share Posted July 9, 2017 Belgian C-130s fly again Belgian air force C-130H transport aircraft are flying again and are "practically operational", the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 4 July. Some of the aircraft are still grounded but will return to the air in the next few days and the entire fleet of 11 C-130s will be operational shortly, the ministry added. The entire fleet was grounded for a few weeks because of problems with the flight controls of several aircraft. Source: http://www.janes.com/article/72052/belgian-c-130s-fly-again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.