Structural cracking has forced the U.S. Coast Guard to ground its entire fleet of 14 C-27J Spartan maritime patrol aircraft, slashing the Coast Guard’s fixed-wing surveillance and light transport capabilities.
As a precautionary measure, the Coast Guard first grounded their twin-engine C-27J fleet over the weekend, after the plane’s manufacturer, Italian aerospace conglomerate Leonardo, issued an Alert Service Bulletin directing users to inspect for cracks in the upper rear of the aircraft, where the Spartan’s horizontal and vertical stabilizers attach to the fuselage.
According to a Coast Guard spokesperson, all 14 C-27J aircraft in the inventory “have been inspected and have cracks of varying degrees.”
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