PEORIA, Ill. — Officials with the Illinois Army National Guard say they have been forced to ground the state’s fleet of 6 CH-47 Chinook helocopters in accordance with a branchwide directive from the U.S. Army.
Army commanders grounded the large transport choppers follwing the earlier discovery of a fuel leak issue which commanders feared might lead to a higher risk of engine fires.
Planemaker Boeing Co makes the heavy-lift Chinook helicopters that supports disaster relief operations and medical evacuation.
“The Army has identified the root cause of fuel leaks that caused a small number of engine fires among an isolated number of H-47 helicopters, and is implementing corrective measures to resolve this issue,” U.S. Army spokeswoman Cynthia O. Smith said.
While no deaths or injuries occurred, the grounding was carried “out of an abundance of caution” until those corrective actions are complete, Smith added.
The grounding, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, was targeted at certain models with engines manufactured by Honeywell International Inc, according to the report.
Boeing declined to comment and referred questions to the Army. Honeywell did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Illinois Army National Guard Public Affairs Officer Barbara Wilson tells WMBD News that the state’s Chinooks do not suffer from the fuel leak issue, but will remain grounded in an abundance of caution as well.
(Reporting supplimented by Reuters’ Kannaki Deka in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
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