South Korean Surion Helicopters Resume Operations

The South Korean Army has resumed operation of its Surion choppers on Monday, months after they were grounded following the crash of the MUH-1 marine variant of KUH-1 Surion helicopter in July.

An MUH-1 Marineon crashed at a military airport in the southeastern city of Pohang on July 17, killing five of the six Marines aboard and injuring the other.

A team of civilian, government and military experts cited defects in the rotor mast of the MUH-1 as the cause of the crash. Before the resumption, the Army conducted the detailed inspection of the chopper's rotor mast and conducted test flights to ensure it has no operational problems, Yonhap reported Monday.

"At 9 AM, the Army resumed the normal operation of the Surion choppers that have gone through the inspection and flight tests," the Army said in a text message sent to reporters.

Currently, 30 percent of some 90 Surion choppers have undergone the inspection.

"We plan to resume the operation of the remaining choppers after the inspection," the news agency quoted the Army as saying Monday.