Malaysia grounds Sikorsky choppers

Malaysia grounds Sikorsky choppers

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): The Malaysian defense ministry yesterday
ordered the air force to ground its 31 US-built Sikorsky S-61A-4
helicopters after one of the aircraft crashed late on Wednesday.

The 31 helicopters, which are mainly used for transporting
troops, were temporarily grounded pending an inspection of their
airworthiness, Defense Minister Syed Hamid Albar was quoted as
saying by Bernama news agency.

Sixty people have died in air crashes involving the Sikorsky
helicopters, later renamed Nuri, since they were introduced into
the Malaysian air force in 1968.

This figure excludes the death toll in Wednesday's incident
when a helicopter crashed at sea off northern Penang island while
trying to winch up an engineer hurt during an explosion on a
ship. Rescuers found two survivors and two bodies near the scene
of the crash. Three other people are still missing.