Suspended since May last year

Test flights to begin Tuesday

A Navy P-3C maritime patrol aircraft. [Herald DB]
A Navy P-3C maritime patrol aircraft. [Herald DB]

The Navy said Thursday it will resume test flights of the P-3CK maritime patrol aircraft starting Tuesday, as it works to restore the plane to operational service following a crash in May last year that grounded the fleet.

Before resuming flights, the Navy conducted comprehensive inspections of all P-3CK airframes, including a condition assessment led by the US Navy and an aircraft survey known as INSURV, overseen by the Navy and its depot maintenance contractor. No abnormalities were found. The Navy also reinforced safety systems to prevent stalls, relocating the angle-of-attack indicator and installing a stall-warning device.

In addition, the Navy conducted a comprehensive evaluation of crew readiness — covering mission training, education and psychological stability — and strengthened pilot flight training.

"Once test flights are completed, training flights will be conducted to sharpen crew proficiency," the Navy said. "The results of both the test and training flights will then be comprehensively evaluated to confirm flight safety before maritime patrol operations resume."


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