Afghan Maintainers Expand Mi-17 Inspection Knowledge

Under the mentorship of US and NATO air advisors, members of the Afghan air force’s Kandahar Air Wing recently completed their first 200-hour maintenance phase inspection on an Mi-17 helicopter, achieving another milestone in the fledgling Afghan air arm’s maturation. In addition to conducting the 200-hour inspection, the KAW maintainers replaced worn-out parts on both of the helicopter’s engines, the main gearbox, tail rotor blades, gearbox, and tail rotor chain, according to advisors with NATO Air Training Command-Afghanistan. A three-person Afghan training team also came in from Kabul to Kandahar Air Base to oversee their colleagues. Previously, the KAW had to send its Mi-17s to Kabul for these inspections. Gaining the ability to conduct them in-house will improve the wing’s aircraft availability by two days per inspection. In October, the wing received certification to conduct 100-hour inspections. (Kandahar report by MC2 Vladimir Potapenko) (See also AFPS report by Terri Moon Cronk)