Maintenance matters

Flying Safety, Oct, 2003

Editor's Note: The following accounts are from actual mishaps. They have been screened to prevent the release of privileged information.

Tech data and training are always a theme in this magazine, and here are some cases where if the T.O. or training had been followed the damage would not have happened. Like we've said before, the books are there for a reason, to keep you alive and the aircraft safe.

F-16 Takes A Drop

An F-16 was washed and seven days later got to take to the air. The flight was a normal flight until the end. The pilot put the gear handle down and the red light came on and went off, but unfortunately, he didn't get the three green he was expecting. The lights checked good, so he did a go-around and contacted the SOF for a chase aircraft. The chase aircraft came around, and the pilot cycled the gear handle with the same results. The gear appeared to be in the down and locked position, and the speed brakes would go to the full open position. If the gear wasn't down all the way the speed brakes should have been limited to less than 43 degrees. The aircraft came around and the pilot set up to catch the barrier. As he landed, he caught the bi-directional hook BAK-12B approximately two to three feet off the ground and at 148 knots, resulting in a hard landing. Luckily, the barrier stopped the aircraft and the landing gear stayed down and locked.

Now, what caused this hard landing, besides the pilot? Let's go back seven days earlier to the aircraft wash. The landing gear downlock switches, are protected with paper during the wash, but during the process the high-pressure hose was directed at the landing gear. Where do you think the water ended up? After the mishap, maintenance checked the downlock switches, and they were somewhat surprised to find moisture in the switches. They also discovered two broken wires on the right main landing gear and the uplock/downlock circuit breakers open. After fixing the wires, drying out the switches and resetting the circuit breakers, the aircraft checked good.

There is a caution in the wash tech data that states, "Do not direct high pressure hose into the main landing gear wheel well area or damage to electrical connectors in the main gear wheel well will result." This incident is proof that the caution was put there for a good reason! Once again the book is there to prevent mishaps. All we have to do is follow it.

B-1 Pops the Tops

A B-1 was parked on the ramp minding its own business with some troops working on it, and the next thing people knew, the pilots' and defensive system operator's (DSO) hatches were jettisoned. The pilots' hatch landed 55 feet aft and left of the nose gear, and the DSO's hatch landed aft and left of the tail by 41 feet. Bet that got a lot of people's attention real quick!

Now, how do you pop the tops on a B-1? In this case there were several factors that came into play.

* The crew chief involved had received his initial training almost ten months prior to the incident, and the training was an HTML PowerPoint presentation that covered the hatch jettison system.

* The training course does not have a direct link to a good picture of the system.

* Part of the training consisted of computer academics and used scanned photos of the system, and this is mandatory training for all personnel.

* There is a cockpit mock-up of the aircraft, but this is usually used for egress technicians, not the crew chiefs.

* The crew chief received his Able Chief course training eight months prior to the incident, and during the training they did not have access to a real aircraft, as none were available. Basically he didn't get a chance for hands-on training on where the pins go and how the handle looks and works.

* The students are taught where and why the handles are where they are, and why they need to be safed.

* The aircraft that popped the top was undergoing some maintenance that included a window change and an engine run for a bleed air problem.

* The T.O. required that the pins be pulled during the engine run. The engine run and a subsequent refueling were accomplished with no problems.

* When the aircraft was safed after the engine run, the hatches decided they needed to go away.

How good is your training program and are the people dealing with the aircraft qualified to perform the task at hand? We have a young workforce, and experience only comes with time. We need to ensure that troops who are unsure or whose training may be a little less than required, are qualified to perform the assigned task without supervision.

How Do You Test The Engine?

An E-8C had a writeup in the forms for "number one and four engines require an EGT check on next engine run." The aircrew that came out to fly the aircraft were asked to do the engine run prior to takeoff. Great ops maintenance interface! During the engine run, the engines produced normal indications, and the crew signed off the writeup in the forms and took off. The FE noticed that the number four engine EGT climbed to 590 degrees, and they performed an emergency shutdown of the affected engine. The crew dumped fuel and returned to where they started.