Tustin : Some Super Stallions Get OK for Flying Again

Aircraft engineers at the Marine Corps Helicopter Air Station in Tustin have approved the first CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters for flight after the fleet was grounded last month because of malfunctioning gears.

Five helicopters were returned to service on Monday, and the rest of the Tustin-based fleet will be allowed to fly after each aircraft is inspected and, if necessary, repaired, Staff Sgt. Jim Hager said. The exact number of helicopters at the base is classified, but Hager said that “about 50%” of the Marine Corps fleet of 66 Super Stallions is stationed there.

The helicopters have had a history of trouble since they were delivered to the Navy and Marines in 1980. Twenty-four Marines have died and 17 more have been injured in a series of crashes and mishaps.

The helicopters, which can lift 16 tons or carry 55 fully equipped soldiers, were grounded in February because of faulty gearboxes. Some had been returned to service when they were grounded again in June after three more malfunctions occurred in flight. No one was injured in the incidents.

Hager said that the team of military and civilian engineers had determined that the malfunctions would not have compromised flight safety. “This is not something that during flight is going to cause a major catastrophe,” Hager said.

Flight restrictions have already been placed on the helicopters, which cost more than $20 million each and were built by Connecticut-based Sikorsky Aircraft. Rep. Robert Badham (R-Newport Beach) called for the indefinite grounding of the helicopters earlier this year after a congressional investigation revealed that the Navy ignored information about a design problem that caused the helicopters to vibrate.