The helicopter of the Air Force of the Army of Montenegro type "Bell 412 EP" that suffered a serious accident on January 17 at the military airport "Knjaz Danilo" in Golubovci has not yet been repaired or returned to operational use, and the Ministry of Defense (MO) and the leadership of the Army of Montenegro (VCG ) did not establish anyone's fault for that extraordinary event, which left Montenegro without a third of its fleet of medium multipurpose military helicopters.
On January 412, the "Bell 17 EP" helicopter suffered a severe breakdown of a part of the drive and transmission assembly, during the implementation of an extraordinary helicopter inspection procedure, which is prohibited by the manufacturer of that aircraft. In addition, according to the claims of several well-informed sources of "Vijesti", the check was carried out by a helicopter crew allegedly untrained for such a procedure. In that incident, the aircraft suffered damages ranging from 300.000 to XNUMX million euros.
"Vijesti" was informed by the Ministry of Defense that the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Army, Brigadier General Zoran Lazarevic and Air Force Commander Lt. Col Bojan Popadić "did not establish the existence of grounds for taking disciplinary or other responsibility measures" in connection with the accident of the helicopter registration number XHB 307, which cost taxpayers 10 million euros.
"If there really was a system failure, it did not happen due to negligence or irresponsible behavior. You know that all pilots of the Air Force and technical personnel who support the use of helicopters perform their tasks in a timely, responsible and fully dedicated manner, often with the assumption of numerous risks, in order to save the lives and property of citizens", reads the reply from the Ministry of Defense.
From the department headed by the minister Dragan KrapovićNews" was asked what the investigation of this extraordinary event showed, who and what specifically caused the helicopter crash, whether and if not why, the personal responsibility of the members of the helicopter crew or their superiors in the chain of command and control in the Air Force of the Republic of Croatia was determined, and if yes, in what way were they sanctioned, the answer was that "the General Staff and the Air Force of the Republic of Croatia undertook all measures and activities in accordance with the Law and the prescribed procedures".
"The commissions for investigating the circumstances and causes of the event conducted the procedure in the prescribed manner, and you have already received answers regarding your earlier interests. There are no new details in this regard", we were told in the MoD.
At the end of February, "Vijesti" received official information from the Ministry of Defense that "the commission conducted the procedure and concluded in the report that the helicopter in question exceeded the limit of the number of revolutions of the maximum values for the parameter N2 (free turbine) and NR (number of revolutions of the supporting rotor)".
However, neither then, nor now, has the Ministry of Defense announced who is to blame for the fact that the helicopter, during a test on the ground, according to a prohibited procedure, was brought into a mode where one of its two engines and the transmission that transmits power to the propeller "overturned", i.e. go outside the maximum permissible load range.
The well-informed sources of "Vijesti" claimed at the time that the top of the Air Force of Serbia and Montenegro is trying to cover up this accident as much as possible and that the real culprits for it are not punished.
At the time, the Ministry of Defense resolutely denied this, as well as denying the claims of the "Vijesti" source that the investigative commission, which was formed by the decision of the commander of the Mixed Squadron of the VVCG, does not have the professional capacity to find the real cause and responsibility for this expensive accident.
According to the Ministry of Defense at the time, the commission of inquiry included "a major - staff officer for logistics (34 years of service), a captain - staff officer for operations (28 years of service) and a senior sergeant of the first class - a staff non-commissioned officer for military-police jobs (with 24 years of service)". The MoD said that this speaks "about the validity of the work of the Commission".
"The Minister of Defense has no doubts about her expertise, and the public will be informed about the results of the investigation in a timely manner," the Ministry of Defense told "Vijesti" at the end of February, but now they say that the commission has conducted the procedure and found that one of the engines and the transmission were loaded during the examination of the helicopter. over the maximum limits, but that "there are no new details" about all this.
"Vijesti" sources claimed in February that the investigative commission included three members of the VCG who do not have basic professional knowledge of aviation: two officers, one of whom is a logistician who dealt with fuel supply in the VCG with a completed civilian faculty, and the other a musician - a former member of the Military Orchestra, now serving in the Air Force, while the third is a non-commissioned officer - a military policeman who performs the duties of a clerk in the Air Force Command.
"None of the three of them has specific knowledge about aviation, helicopters and the performance of aviation operations, nor about the maintenance and exploitation of aircraft, so it is likely that the Investigative Commission with this composition will determine the real causes that caused the extraordinary event to happen, and propose adequate measures related to flight safety and a number of other professional matters that such reports must contain, almost non-existent", said the source of "Vijesti" half a year ago.
"The insinuations about incompetence and covering up the reasons and consequences of this event are not true," the Ministry of Defense stated at the time.
The damage will be known after additional diagnostics
The Ministry of Defense could not precisely answer the questions about the amount of damage caused to the helicopter, whether it has been repaired in the meantime and when this aircraft, one of the three "Bell 412" types that VVCG has at its disposal, will be returned to operational use.
However, the MoD's response mentions "the assumption that a malfunction has occurred on the system" and the need for additional diagnostics.
"MO has collected offers from several companies that are certified to carry out the diagnostic procedure of potential system failure. As we told you earlier, the assumption is that the system has malfunctioned. Whether this is so, the diagnostic findings will show soon. If it is confirmed that it is a malfunction, the Ministry of Defense has the financial resources for such an investment and bringing the helicopter into operational use," the ministry said.
They underlined that "in Montenegro, as well as in the region, there is no company with the capacity for this type of work, which additionally slows down the entire process, all the more so because specialized companies in Europe are overbooked with requests for the repair of aircraft that are used in the immediate control and protection of air traffic space just above Europe".
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