By Geoff Fein
The Navy yesterday said it is encouraged by the results of a recent inspection for cracks on Boeing [BA] F/A-18 Hornets’ outer wing panels, and expects there will be minimal operational impact, the service said.
The good news comes two weeks after the service issued an aviation bulletin to inspect all 636 A through D Hornets in the Navy and Marine Corps’ inventory.
“We have inspected 99 percent of the Hornet fleet in a deployed or training status, including 100 percent of the 112 aircraft deployed with Carrier Air Wings and Marine Air Wings,” Lt. Clayton Doss, a Navy spokesman, told Defense Daily. “We grounded 10 aircraft and placed flight restrictions on an additional 20 aircraft. Of the deployed aircraft, two were grounded and eight were flight restricted.”
Of the 636 aircraft inspected, 480 are either used for training or in deployed status. The remaining aircraft are in depots, Doss added.
The Navy will prioritize repairs of deployed aircraft to ensure safe operations and mission requirements are met, Doss said
“Enough parts are available to quickly repair the two grounded aircraft,” he added. “All others will be restored to full flight status using remaining supplies.”
The Navy will continue to analyze the data gathered to determine the root cause of the cracks discovered in the aluminum outer wing outboard aileron hinges.
“With procedures in place, and maintenance techniques under development, we do not expect additional degradations to the Navy’s strike-fighter capability resulting from the identified hinge cracks,” Doss said.