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Test pilots feared Chinook had engine fault
- Article from:
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The Independent - London
- Article date:
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January 12, 1996
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Copyright informationCopyright 1996 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Test pilots refused to fly the type of Chinook helicopter which
crashed on the Mull of Kintyre because of problems with the
software controlling its engines, an inquiry heard yesterday.
The concerns over the Mark Two Chinook were chiefly spurious
engine failure warnings and overfuelling, an unnamed military pilot
told the fatal-accident inquiry at Paisley, Strathclyde.
A particular problem was with the newly introduced aircraft's
"fadec" - full-authority digital engine control - which in the case
of the engine failure warning system meant that a warning light
would go on for 12 seconds even if there was no fault.
In the months leading up to the helicopter's crash into a
fog-shrouded hillside ...