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 US agency complains about Sikorsky helicopters, Associated Press, December 8, 2006.A federal overseer is accusing Sikorsky Aircraft of failing to address repeated complaints about delays and quality issues in its production of U.S. military helicopters, according to a published report. Sikorsky officials said Friday they have addressed those concerns and stepped up inspections on its production lines. In a letter last month to Sikorsky President Jeffrey Pino, the Defense Contract Management Agency demanded "immediate action" to mitigate "mounting risk," and gave the company 30 days to produce a plan for addressing its failures. Pentagon Overseer Blasts Sikorsky, Hartford Courant, December 8, 2006, By Eric GershonSikorsky Aircraft's failure to address repeated complaints about delays and quality issues in its production of U.S. military helicopters has led a federal overseer to declare the company's management oversight "out of control" and its errors "mounting in seriousness." ...The Courant obtained the letters between Freer and Pino from the Project for Government Oversight, a government watchdog group based in Washington. Sikorsky parts issues come to a head with Level III CAR, Defense Industry Daily, December 7, 2006.On December 1, 2006, DID published "Sikorsky Parts Issues Receiving Media Attention," covering work by the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) and WTNH TV re: "high visibility issues" related to Sikorsky helicopters and parts. Now WTNH's Alan Cohn reports in "Shake-up at Sikorsky following Defense Department letter" that the Defense Contract Management Agency has escalated Sikorsky to a Level III Corrective Action Request. This gives Sikorsky 30 days to fix recurring problems in Black Hawk quality control, and demands "immediate action to mitigate mounting risk." Defense Contracts Management Agency moves Sikorsky to a Level III Corrective Action Request, and this time, they mean business. Follow the link to read the DCMA's letter and Alan Cohn’s most recent reports. Sikorsky battling major quality control problems, Alan Cohn from News Channel 8 with WTNH in Connecticut, November 29, 2006. Follow this link to read the documents.There are startling new indications that quality control problems at Stratford based Sikorsky Aircraft are resulting in defective parts getting onboard U.S. military helicopters. ...But according to these internal company charts, since 2004 quality problems at Sikorsky have gone up 8-fold...."It sounds like a recipe for disaster," says Nick Schwellenbach, POGO. ...Nick Schwellenbach is an investigator at the project on government oversight in Washington. He echoes other experts stating the company's apparent inability to fix its quality control problems may be endangering U.S. troops. ..."Obviously, Sikorsky hasn't prioritized the safety of American soldiers who are flying these helicopters who depend on every single part in this highly complicated flying machine to work properly under stressful conditions," says Schwellenbach. Problems with Sikorsky helicopters? News Channel 8, WTNH.com, May 10, 2006.Sikorsky Aircraft has filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit against the Defense Department that would stop the government from releasing documents to News Channel 8 on quality control problems on the Blackhawk helicopter. read this transcript or watch this video » Fight Focuses on Copter Records: Defense Contractor Files Suit to Deny Access, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, April 5, 2006.One of the nation's largest defense contractors is suing the Pentagon to prevent the release of Black Hawk helicopter production inspection records, saying they would reveal confidential information to its competitors. read this article » Pentagon halts acceptance of new Black Hawks and Sea Hawks. Last week the military announced it was cancelling the Comanche helicopter. Now, the Pentagon is refusing to accept new deliveries of Black Hawk and Seahawk helicopters. (WTNH, Feb. 29, 2004 11:55 PM) Pentagon will not accept Black Hawk helicopters. More trouble for Connecticut based Sikorsky Aircraft. The US military has put off accepting new Black Hawk helicopters made by the Stratford based defense contractor Sikorsky. The move comes after repeated problems on Sikorsky's production line including... (WTNH, Feb. 28, 2004 10:00 PM) Sikorsky no stranger to trouble. Sikorsky has been awarded huge new government contracts but at the same time has... (Bridgeport-WTNH, Feb. 23, 2004 5:00 PM) Lieberman talks about Black Hawk investigation in tour of Sikorsky. Presidential hopeful Sen. Joseph Lieberman came home to Connecticut today to tour Sikorsky Aircraft and to promote jobs in the defense industry. He also talked about the investigation into bad parts being installed on Black Hawk... (Stratford-WTNH, July 24, 2003 Updated 7:30 PM) Defense Department, Sikorsky responds to parts investigation. Stratford-based Sikorsky Aircraft is responding to news the Pentagon is conducting a criminal investigation in whether defective parts are at times slipping through the helicopter maker's quality control system. (WTNH, July 23, 2003 5:35 PM) Congressman wants answers about Sikorsky helicopters. A Connecticut congressman is now demanding answers about whether defective parts sometimes slip through Sikorsky's... (Stratford-WTNH, July 17, 2003 6:10 PM) Sikorsky responds to News Channel 8 investigation on Black Hawks. Quality control questions have been raised about whether defective parts are making their way onto the production line. (WTNH, Apr. 30, 2003 6:15 PM) The Black Hawk helicopter's troubled history They are a work horse of the US military but there are questions about what's going into the Connecticut built Black Hawk. (Stratford-WTNH, Apr. 29, 2003 6:00 PM)
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