The Robinson R44 helicopter has not been grounded.
The wreckage of the chopper which crashed at Bulli Tops on Thursday. Picture: SYLVIA LIBER
Robinson R44 helicopters will continue to fly, despite their involvement in several fatal crashes nationwide.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) said yesterday the helicopters would not be grounded in the wake of Thursday's crash at Bulli Tops.
A CASA spokesperson said it would be "extreme" to completely ground all R44 choppers and it was too early to speculate about their future.
Bankstown Helicopters, the company that operated both the VH-HWQ chopper involved in Thursday's crash and another helicopter brought down in a fatal accident at Jaspers Brush last year, declined to comment on whether it would ground its fleet.
The company also operates three other R44 choppers from its Bankstown base.
Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) senior safety investigator Greg Madden said yesterday the company's VH-HWQ helicopter had not been refitted with a bladder-type fuel tank, as urged by authorities.
Manufacturer Robinson Helicopter Company issued a bulletin in 2010, requiring R44 helicopters with all-aluminium fuel tanks to be retrofitted, no later than April 30 this year.
CASA will take further action if fuel tanks have not been replaced by the due date, the CASA spokesperson said yesterday.
While there are no immediate moves to mandate the fuel tank change, the spokesperson said the issue would be closely reviewed.
"We are certainly aware of it, as we have been for some time, and we have written to [R44 owners] to make them aware that it is strongly recommended that the replacement be done," he said.
"Given the latest tragedy, we will be looking very carefully at the rate that tanks have been replaced and anything the ATSB gives us; we will continue to review the issue and take further action if need be."
Bankstown Helicopters declined to comment yesterday on whether its other choppers had been modified.