Australian Navy grounds helicopter fleet

CANBERRA - The Royal Australian Navy has grounded its entire helicopter fleet for a maintenance review.

The grounding follows the crash of a Sea King helicopter on the Indonesian island of Nias in April, when nine defence personnel died.

"The maritime commander has directed that an aviation maintenance practice review be conducted. It's something like an audit," a defence spokesman said today.

"There is no blanket cessation of flying. However, there may be some adjustments to operational flying programs. The review should be completed this week."

The defence investigation into the Nias island crash has yet to be concluded.

But preliminary conclusions pointed to a failure in the flight-control system.

- AAP