Strong winds damaged 41 TH-73A Thrasher helicopters based out of Naval Air Station Whiting Field in Florida this month, according to the Chief of Naval Air Training, or CNATRA.
The aircraft from Training Air Wing 5 suffered the damage on May 13, when high winds of more than 80 mph blew through the region.
“Initial assessments reveal damages are primarily limited to the rotor blades and main rotor head assembly for aircraft involved,” CNATRA said in a statement to Navy Times this week. “The full extent of the resources needed to restore the fleet has not yet been finalized, however, repairs are not expected to exceed a month.”
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According to CNATRA, there is no operational impact resulting from the incident, and the Navy is utilizing its TH-57B/C Sea Ranger helicopters in the interim while maintenance is ongoing.
Even though the incident qualified as a Class A mishap — which the Navy characterizes as those involving death, $2.5 million or more in damages, or the destruction of an aircraft — none of the helicopters were destroyed and are all recoverable.
“No injury to personnel occurred during the incident and there has been no reported damage to any TH-57 Sea Ranger or T-6 Texan II aircraft positioned on the flight line,” CNATRA said. “All aircraft were parked aboard Naval Air Station Whiting Field during the incident. TAW-5 is investigating the total extent of damage to the fleet.”
The Navy acquired its first TH-73 Thrasher in 2021 at NAS Whiting Field to replace the TH-57B/C Sea Ranger to fulfill advanced rotary wing and intermediate tilt-rotor training requirements for Navy and Marine Corps personnel through 2050, according to the Navy.
