India's chinooks still operational details sought from boeing over us grounding report

India's chinooks still operational details sought from boeing over us grounding report

The Indian Air Force is continuing the operations of its fleet of Chinook helicopters as per routine despite the US Army grounding its entire fleet of H-47 Chinooks over issues of engine fires. The Indian Air Force has sought details from Boeing, the American defence manufacturer, about the reasons behind the grounding of the US Army's fleet of Chinook helicopters, reported ANI.

The IAF operates its fleet of 15 Boeing-made Chinook helicopters which were inducted into the service in March 2019. The multi-role vertical lift platform is used for transporting men and material and also plays an important role in humanitarian and disaster relief operations.

"Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter fleet is still operational. India has sought details of the reasons which have led to the grounding of the entire fleet of US Army's Chinook CH-47 helicopters because of a risk of engine fires," ANI quoted government officials as saying.

The US Army grounded its fleet of H-47 Chinook helicopters after several experienced engine fires, reported AFP quoting the Army. The move will leave some 400 of the heavy-duty Chinooks out of service.

"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," said Army spokeswoman Cynthia Smith.

"While no deaths or injuries occurred, the Army temporarily grounded the H-47 fleet out of an abundance of caution, until those corrective actions are complete," she said in a statement.

The Boeing-made Chinook helicopters are in service in India, Britain and nearly 20 other countries. The Indian fleet of Chinook choppers is based out of Chandigarh for operations in the north while another unit is located in Assam for operations in the northeastern region.