"Mentor 27" Mayday call inbound Richmond

[Liz E]

Aircraft call sign "Mentor 27" just declared Mayday on Brissy centre 124.8, inbound for Richmond and have requested full fire and ambulance services. Anyone know if this is just a military training exercise? Seven POB.

[Daniel M]

Aircraft call sign "Mentor 27" just declared Mayday on Brissy centre 124.8, inbound for Richmond and have requested full fire and ambulance services. Anyone know if this is just a military training exercise? Seven POB.

doubt they would call mayday on an active frequency if it was just a drill...sounds full on...

[Scott Lindsell]

Believe the callsign is used by the Aussie C-130's. Funny though as I heard a USAF aircraft use this callsign recently too.
S.

[PaulL]

Helicopter?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/09/16/2365449.htm

[Bob C]

An "Air Force" helicopter ?

I thought the RAAF didn't operate any helicopters.

[damien b]

Believe the callsign is used by the Aussie C-130's. Funny though as I heard a USAF aircraft use this callsign recently too.
S.

Usually they use Trojan whilst in Australia - can not say i have ever heard Mentor as a Aussie C-130 callsign and i was with them for 10 years. Mentor used to be assigned to 77 SQN i think.

[damien b]

An "Air Force" helicopter ?

I thought the RAAF didn't operate any helicopters.

They don't although Lloyds fly's rescue helicopters for the RAAF with one at Williamtown i believe. Maybe it was one of their aircraft?

[AdamC]

We had one of the Lloyds (RAAF) Rescue helicopters here yesterday afternoon in Nowra, possibly that one. VH-LHY i think was the reg. Had a night sun strapped to the left hand side.

Cheers

Adam

[Bob C]

Correct Damien - that was my thought as the Lloyds' S76 at Pearce is often identified as an "RAAF helicopter" in the media whenever it may be called out.

I guess it's easier to identify it as such as the general public wouldn't have a clue anyway.

[Drew H]

Ever since the 36 and 37 sqn C-17 shuffle, the C-130s have been using Mentor for the most part, with the occasional Trojan. It seems mainly the Hs using Mentor and Js using Trojan, though I've seen both use either.
As far as I know, the general S-76 callsign is Chopper, but I profess I haven't heard them very often at all.

[damien b]

From news.com.au - aircraft was a C-130.

Hercules fleet grounded after emergency landing
September 17, 2008 02:10am

THE Defence Force has grounded its fleet of Hercules C-130 transport aircraft after an "unusual" fault prompted an emergency landing.

The fault was detected on Monday night during a training flight near Richmond, north-west of Sydney, a Defence spokeswoman told Fairfax newspapers.

Following the incident, all 24 of the RAAF's Hercules planes were grounded for all non-essential flights until the cause had been detected.

Defence said a plane had declared an emergency on Monday about 8.25pm (AEST) after its crew detected a fault with the nose-wheel.

At 8.55pm the crew put in a mayday call but landed safely at the Richmond Base 20 minutes later.

[AdamC]

Are we looking at history in the making, A helicopter that turns into a C130.

Someones been watching to much transformers me thinks.

[Steve Jones]

Grounded both the H and J models or just one of them?

[Tony P]

Mentor = C-130 training sortie

[Bob C]

Hi Steve

The news report said all 24 of the RAAF's Hercules so that must be H and J models.

However, I recall reading that two C130Hs were grounded some time ago due to cracks in the main spar (I think) and will never fly again.

The grounding of the rest of fleet, however temporary, is probably a first in the RAAF's history, and will have a serious effect on operations overseas where several are based.

[Jethro H]

So, where did the ABC get the "helicopter" story?!?

The C130 apparently had a wheel nose problem. It was still parked at the end of the runway early morning with crews working around it.

[Gerard M]

Did anyone hear any more on what happened here or whether they still have them all grounded?

Gerard

[damien b]

Not sure on the temporary grounding status but according to a former C-130 crewie, a C-130H model suffered a nose gear strut failure whilst doing dirt strip touch and go practice out west. They made a very soft but safe landing in Richmond.

[Jethro H]

From Defence today
HERCULES FLEET RETURNS TO NORMAL FLYING OPERATIONS


The Air Force’s fleet of C-130 Hercules aircraft has returned to normal flying activities.

A restriction on flying operations was imposed as a precautionary measure following an incident with a C-130H Hercules aircraft during a training flight on September 15.

The aircraft encountered a fault with its nose landing gear, and returned safely to RAAF Base Richmond. Defence immediately launched an investigation into the fault, and limited the Hercules fleet to all but essential flights.

Group Captain Gary Martin, Officer Commanding of No. 86 Wing, said “an Air Force investigation, conducted in consultation with DSTO and the aircraft manufacturer Lockheed Martin, has concluded that the nose landing gear failure was an isolated instance caused by a manufacturing defect that posed low risk to other aircraft in the fleet.”

“The C-130 Hercules fleet is being returned to normal flying operations,” Group Captain Martin said.

“Air Force’s response to this incident demonstrates our commitment to safety, as well as the professionalism and skill of our personnel when under pressure.”

The Air Force has a fleet of 24 C-130 Hercules, operated from RAAF Base Richmond.

These aircraft are an important part of the Australian Defence Force, providing a combat airlift capability.