Argentine Navy Sea King helicopter suffers incident in Antarctica

One of the «new» SH-3H Sea King helicopters of the Argentine Navy suffered an incident while performing resupply tasks at the Esperanza Antarctic base.

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According to the communiqué issued by the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Argentine Armed Forces (EMCOFFA), one of the Sea King helicopters deployed on board the icebreaker Almirante Irizar, had an incident that caused minor breakages in the fuselage and tail rotor, leaving the aircraft out of service. The episode occurred on March 4 at 19:30hs during the refueling of the Esperanza base, an activity included in the Antarctic Summer Campaign 2023-2024.

Comunicado del @cocoantar #ComandoConjuntoAntártico#FuerzasArmadas#EstadoMayorConjunto pic.twitter.com/pqzuRAAqxu

— Fuerzas Armadas de la República Argentina (@EMCOFFA_Arg) March 5, 2024

Although this Sea King was rendered out of service, EMCOFFA assures that the crew and personnel were unharmed and that the mission of supplying Antarctic bases continues normally. An air accident investigation board is analyzing the causes of the episode.

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Navy’s «newest» Sea Kings

The aircraft that was damaged is one of the two new SH-3H Sea King helicopters acquired in 2022 (registration 2-H-244 or 2-H-245) by the Argentine Ministry of Defense, with the objective of improving the operational and logistical capabilities of the Antarctic Campaign, conduct search and rescue operations and surveillance and control of the Exclusive Economic Zone.

These Sea Kings were acquired from the North American company Carson Helicopters, which developed for them a range of upgrades, ranging from a modern avionics system that allows «all weather» operations, with integrated MFCD (Multifuction Control Display) GMPS (Ground Mission Planning System) digital cockpit for night and instrument flight conditions, compatible with night vision goggles (NVG); a digital communications management suite, and new composite main rotor blades that increase the helicopter’s performance.

The Sea King has a flight range in excess of 5 hours; a minimum service ceiling of 10,000 feet (approximately 10,000 meters); a maximum cruise speed in excess of 120 knots (approximately 220 kilometers per hour); a cargo hook system capable of lifting and carrying up to 11,000 pounds (approximately 4,900 kg), with electric, emergency and manual release; and includes a scale and load sensor with in-cabin indicator.