All because of counterfeit
The Federal Air Transport Agency has suspended the operation of 37 helicopters manufactured in 2022 – 27 Mi-8MTV-1 and 10 Ansat-SK, produced at the Kazan Helicopter Plant (KVZ, part of the Russian Helicopters holding company of the Rostec state corporation) due to the use of rubber with fake quality certificates. Gaskets for the fuel system were made from this rubber.
This was reported by Izvestia with reference to airworthiness directives issued by the Federal Air Transport Agency in late October – early November. Additionally, the regulator notified the developers and manufacturers of helicopters, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Emergency Situations and operators of these types of aircraft.
The Federal Air Transport Agency said that the directives prescribe the work of checking and replacing gaskets with new ones, flushing the fuel system, ground racing of engines and a subsequent control flight, and currently these works have already been completed on approximately 80% of helicopters.
New Mi-8MTV-1 and Ansat-SK helicopters. A criminal case has been initiated
Rostec told the newspaper that the supplier of rubber plates for gaskets at Kazan Helicopter Plant was selected during procurement procedures. The counterfeit material was delivered to the plant back in August 2022. The company also noted that the defect in the material was identified by the factory’s quality service, and additional tests carried out confirmed the inauthenticity of the product.
After this, the products were placed in a defect isolation room, and the products used before testing were removed from the production shops and replaced on finished helicopters.
A criminal case of fraud has been opened regarding the supply of counterfeit goods.
