A Royal Netherlands Air Force Chinook transport helicopter was damaged by a storm in the United States on June 3.
The damaged aircraft was one of two Chinooks en route to a Boeing facility for the Dutch Chinook replacement and modernization project.
The aircraft made a scheduled stopover in Reading, Pennsylvania, to refuel. Due to approaching bad weather, it was decided to ground the helicopters and prepare them for severe weather. This required the rotor blades to be secured with so-called tie-down lines. However, due to the storm’s severity, one of the lines was broken. This caused the wind to damage the blades and the rotor.
According to the Dutch defense ministry, the damaged helicopter will now be transported to its destination by ground, while the second aircraft flew to its final destination as it was not damaged during the storm. The defense ministry noted that the precise damage and possible consequences for the modernization would be investigated further.
The accident occurred after the Dutch Air Force received its first modernized Chinook in March this year.
