Grounded C130s get their wings

The SA Air Force is to return to flying status four C130s grounded earlier this year for suspected wing-spar cracks, the military said on Wednesday.

Bu, an industry source said the SAAF was returning the Hercules transports to the air on their own responsibility.

The decision went against the advice of the transport plane's manufacturer, Lockheed-Martin.

SAAF spokesperson Captain Ronald Maseko said the SAAF deemed it safe to release the four aircraft for flying operations "albeit with flying and maintenance restrictions".

He said the decision was taken after months of work by SAAF engineers and technicians.

The work included stripping down and inspecting the outer wing section of one of the affected C130s.

"During this time, close liaison between Lockheed Martin and the SAAF was maintained," said Maseko.

Will undergo acceptance checks

All the aircraft would have to undergo maintenance and the first two would be ready to take to the air towards the end of July.

"One of the released aircraft is nearing completion of its upgrade at Denel Aviation and will undergo acceptance checks, after which it will be flown to Air Force Base Waterkloof to have its wings removed for the inspection programme.

"All released aircraft will have to undergo the wing-removal and inspection programme at specified maintenance events in the life cycle.

"The status of the other C130 aircraft is still to be determined after further inspections and tests.

"Decisions regarding their utilisation will be taken at a future airworthiness board," said Maseko.

The SAAF grounded seven of its nine C130B Hercules transports in February.

Maseko said at the time: "Information gathered at the Hercules Operators Conference during October 2004 and follow-up information... issued by Lockheed Martin, the original equipment manufacturer, during December 2004
indicated a possible impact on the predicted life-span of the wings of the Hercules C130 fleet of the SAAF."

News24