The rest of the story - Prowler aircraft… - Letter to the Editor

Approach, Dec, 2002 by Paul Woodworth

Reset to earlier that same day.

It was just like any other half-day at sea. Like they say, it just doesn't get any better than a crisp NORPAC day. Aircraft 304 had launched for a second round of CQ. The weather was great Case III--40 degrees and 30 knots over the bow.

The jet was up and had a great first pass, trapped, and went right to the catapult. In tension, the final check was normal. The conditions were windy, and the flight deck was so loud you couldn't hear yourself think. Aircraft 304 climbed out but got a fuel transfer and boost-low caution. He trapped and was sidelined with troubleshooters coming to the rescue. They found every MSP code available that indicated an SDC failure. The SDC was changed, the aircraft low-power turned. Fuel transfer checked good, and 304 was back on the flight schedule.

Prepare to darken ship. The weather was getting better--10 degrees colder and threatening rain. The XO manned up 304 and headed for the catapult. After a good final check, he headed into the darkness toward marshal. We waited in the cold and rain for the first of his two passes. We got the call but not the one we wanted.

The boss let us know there was a Hornet with fuel problems on a straight-in. We all said, "No, it couldn't be 304. It was fixed." But, it was 304, with a more serious fuel problem. The aircraft's largest tank, tank 4, was not transferring its fuel. We were quite tense on deck because 304 was low state and couldn't make the divert field. There was talk of a barricade landing, but the talk passed when the XO trapped. Wow, that was close. The aircraft was down and marked for hold fuel.

Now the hard part: What tank was the problem? Was tank 1 transferring too fast, or was tank 4 too slow? With no pertinent MSP codes present, it was off to the sea of reports. After the ECAMS reports were printed, the ADs went over every page but found nothing, so they dove into the MIMs. After a few hours with no results, they went back to the reports, trying to find something anything--they--had missed. They found it. An MSP code had set for only 1.5 seconds, enough time to get the ADs pointed in the right direction.

The MSP code was for a right-boost low. The jet was de-fueled and certified gas-free.

They went into tank 4 and its sea of tubing, looking for the motive flow-turbine-boost pump. Two hours and a few hundred feet of tubing later, they had removed the pump. Sure enough, the pump impeller was locked tight. While cleaning the residual fuel from the pump, the impeller was moved a bit, and hello, a thin 6-mm-by-1-mm piece of metal fell out of the turbine inlet. This piece was so small that most of us would have said, "That's not FOD; it's too small."

The small piece of metal, worth about as much as the cash value of a commissary coupon, almost brought down a 40-million-dollar aircraft. The pump was changed, and the aircraft returned to service with no other discrepancies.

When you are out there on the job, or better yet, on a FOD walkdown, remember: The little things count. And those little things can hurt in a big way. Good housekeeping and FOD awareness are the keys to greatness.

Keep them FOD-free and flying.

ADCS Woodworth is with VFA-113.