Main Gearbox Remains Helicopters’ Achilles Heel | Aviation International News

Main Gearbox Remains Helicopters’ Achilles Heel

Two Eurocopter EC225s have made controlled ditchings in the North Sea this year, due to main gearbox problems.

By Thierry Dubois • Writer

January 1, 2013

In Greek mythology, when Achilles was a baby, it was foretold that he would die young. To improve his chances of immortality, his mother, Thetis, took Achilles to the River Styx, which was supposed to offer powers of invulnerability, and dipped his body into the water. But Thetis held Achilles by the heel... The rest of the myth is well known. If the mother of the helicopter concept ever dipped it into the River Styx, she probably held it by the main gearbox.

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