Hercules dilemma delays military shift

By SCOTT MacLEOD

Military gear that should be in the Solomon Islands will take until Sunday to get there because all four Hercules planes in New Zealand are out of action.

The Air Force has five of the 35-tonne transporters, but two were broken down yesterday, two scheduled for maintenance and the fifth supporting troops in Afghanistan.

One of the aircraft is to have an engine replaced today for the second time in less than a week.

The glitches left the military devoid of a heavy airlift capability, although at least one of the Hercules is expected to leave this morning.

The first problem struck on Tuesday, when one of four engines on a Hercules that was to fly an Iroquois helicopter to the Solomons was found to be working poorly.

Squadron Leader Ric Cullinane said a replacement engine also performed "below specifications".

Another engine was to be flown from Auckland to Ohakea overnight and fitted today.

A second Hercules scheduled to leave at 6am yesterday was grounded because of an oil leak in a propeller. Repairs were to take place overnight.

Squadron Leader Cullinane said the problems were bad luck and no reflection on the ability of the Air Force's hard-working engineers.

"Our maintenance team are the bomb, just legends," he said.

The breakdowns came as the Herald revealed deep-seated problems with funds and staffing in New Zealand's military.

Three of the Hercules are 38 years old, and defence papers show the Air Force is desperately short of air electronics operators, aircraft captains, pilots and navigators.

NZ First defence spokesman Ron Mark said the Air Force had great engineers, but they were stretched.

Key staff had left because of the scrapping of the Skyhawk attack wing and delays with pay rises.

"We should be gravely concerned about pressures on aircrews and the shortage of experienced engineers."

National Party defence spokesman Simon Power said the Hercules' problems were a symptom of poor resourcing.

The Government had embarked on a long-term spending plan while neglecting short-term problems, he said.

But Defence Minister Mark Burton's office said National did nothing to upgrade the Hercules during nine years in power.

A spokeswoman said the Government would spend up to $170 million on upgrading and strengthening the Hercules to give them a further 15 years of life. "Those planes fly hundreds of missions with no problems and all that's reported is when one breaks down."

The breakdowns mean New Zealand will miss its self-imposed deadline of having 105 military staff, 35 police and four Iroquois in the Solomons today. Two of the Iroquois were still at Ohakea overnight.

On June 23, a Hercules flying 33 engineers home from the Solomons diverted to New Caledonia when an engine caught fire.

In April, an Orion surveillance plane made an emergency landing at Christchurch Airport when crew noticed a strong burning smell.

In December, it was revealed that the Orions suffered an equipment failure during every second flight.