Rotorcraft
False Failure Warnings Eyed in EC225 Ditchings

The UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) published a further “special bulletin” late last week in its investigation into the controlled ditching of a Bond-operated EC225 medium twin in May in the North Sea, confirming an earlier hint by Eurocopter that the emergency lubrication system gave the pilots a false failure warning.

According to the AAIB, the crew had received indications that both the primary and backup (emergency) gearbox lubrication systems had failed. The latter warning illuminated 32 seconds after the crew activated the emergency lubrication system, and AAIB investigators subsequently found no leak in the backup system.

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