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New helicopters
grounded due to malfunction in US
Staff writer, with CNA
Two AH-64E Apache attack
helicopters are pictured in an undated photograph. The minister of national
defense has ordered all of Taiwan’s Apache helicopters to be grounded for safety
checks.
Photo: CNA
The military has grounded the six AH-64E
Apache attack helicopters acquired from the US and delivered last month after
receiving notification of a malfunction of the same type of helicopter used by
the US Army, officials said yesterday.
Minister of National Defense Yen Ming (嚴明) made the remarks during a meeting of
the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee yesterday in response
to a question from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ma Wen-jun (馬文君).
Lieutenant General Hau Yi-chih (郝以知), chief of staff of the army, said the
military was notified on Tuesday of a main transmission failure in an AH-64E
Apache helicopter being used by the US Army.
The US and Taiwan are the only two countries that use the latest model of the
Apache helicopters.
Hau said that the army has suspended all of its Apache training operations
pending a full investigation into the cause of the malfunction to be conducted
by the US.
It was the first such problem faced by the new Apache helicopter since it was
put into service by the US military earlier this year, a military source said.
Technical specialists from US-based aerospace company Boeing Co, which
manufactures the Apache helicopters, are in Taiwan to help conduct the safety
checks, the source said.
During the legislative hearing, Yen told lawmakers that the military would not
have to pay for the checks or repairs based on the warranty that comes with the
helicopters.
Taiwan held a delivery ceremony for the newly acquired Apache helicopters
attended by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) at an Army Aviation Special Forces base
in Tainan on Friday last week.
The six Apaches, which arrived in Taiwan early last month, are part of a
30-helicopter package purchased by Taiwan at a cost of more than US$2 billion.
The model E is the latest in the Apache attack helicopter series.
The second batch of Apaches is scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan early next
year and the final batch by the end of next year, the military said.
Additional reporting by Rich Chang
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