Canada Keeps Flying Chinooks

The RCAF is continuing to fly its 15 Chinook helicopters despite a fleet-wide grounding of 400 similar aircraft by the U.S. Army due to engine fires. The RCAF says it hasn’t had any fires in its Chinooks but it’s talking to Boeing, which makes the aircraft, and the U.S. Army to assess any risk. It’s possible the issue may not apply to the Canadian fleet because it relates to the source of some parts used in the maintenance of the Honeywell engines in the U.S. Chinooks.
Honeywell quickly determined that O-rings installed in the engines did not meet specs.  “In full coordination with the U.S. Army, Honeywell helped discover that O-rings not meeting Honeywell design specifications had been installed in some T55 engines during routine and scheduled maintenance at an Army Depot. It is believed these suspect O-Rings have been identified and isolated,” Honeywell said in a statement. The company also said it didn’t make or supply the O-rings.