The RAAF's premier aerobatic display team, the Roulettes, has been forced to cancel some air shows after the air force grounded the entire Pilatus PC-9 fleet.
During an engineering review of the PC-9 fleet, cracks were located in the nose-gear folding struts, forcing the RAAF to order all planes out of the sky until they can be assessed.
"Regrettably, this will mean some appearances by the Roulettes must be cancelled, an RAAF spokesperson said. "While this is disappointing for both event organisers and the community; the safety of our personnel and the public takes priority."
The Roulettes were to have started on a tour of South-east Queensland on 21 May, which included dates at the Gold Coast, Archerfield, Caloundra, Bundaberg, the Old Station Fly-in and Maryborough.
Late today, the Roulettes announced that the above tour had been canceled.