Mechanical problems ground 60% of National Guard choppers

The aging CH-47 transport has the best record with 86 percent available

From Chris Plante
CNN National Security Producer

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- About 60 percent of Army National Guard helicopters nationwide are grounded because of mechanical problems and a shortage of spare parts, according to figures released Thursday by Sen. Kit Bond, R-Missouri.

Pentagon officials confirmed to CNN the dramatic problem with the fleets of transport, attack and other helicopters.

Some 80 percent of UH-1 Huey helicopters operated by Army National Guard units across the country are incapable of flying, according to the figures.

Of the 476 Vietnam-era Hueys in the Army National Guard inventory, 382 are "downed," the figures say, leaving only 94 listed as "flyable."

More than 70 percent of the Guard's AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters, another Vietnam-era craft, also are grounded. Of the 351 Cobras in the inventory, 255 are grounded and only 96 are capable of taking flight, Bond's office said.

The figures show that 66 of 144 AH-64 Apache helicopters are incapable of flying and that 131 out of 276 OH-58 Kiowa helicopters are grounded.

Even the newer UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter is hovering at a stunningly low level of flight readiness. Of 505 Black Hawks, 270 are "flyable" while 235 are listed as "downed" or grounded because of the lack of available spare parts.

The aging CH-47 Chinook troop transport helicopter shows the most favorable statistics with only 47 of 133 grounded, leaving 86 ready for flight.

Army National Guard units are under the control of their state governors and are often used in emergency situations, such as floods and other natural disasters.

The striking shortage of properly functioning helicopters also means that the Guard pilots are not getting the required number of flight hours to maintain proficiency, a Pentagon official said.

Bond's office decided to look into the nationwide readiness ratings of Army National Guard helicopters after discovering that Missouri Army Guard helicopters were in a dismal state of disrepair.

Only 14 of the Missouri Army National Guard's 52 helicopters - including just three of 24 UH-1 Hueys -- were capable of flying, Bond's office said. That's a 25 percent readiness rating.