Unit safety - Monthly Award Winners - military safety programs

The 23rd Maintenance Squadron (MXS) Aircraft Inspection Section J averted catastrophic damage and possible injury, resulting from improper maintenance actions accomplished by Depot on A-10 aircraft, 78-0674. During the initial look" phase inspection, a 23 MXS phase crew identified over 90 discrepancies needing repair -- the average amount of discrepancies typically found on an aircraft during a phase inspection is 25. One of the more notable discrepancies occurred due to improperly installed aluminum slat actuator mount brackets. TCTO 1269 specifically requires replacement of all aluminum brackets; steel and aluminum may not be mixed. 23 MXS Phase also recommended the replacement of aluminum nose and main landing gear up-lock brackets with steel ones. A faulty bracket could have caused the landing gear to remain up and locked if jammed. 23 MXS also noticed that slat actuator mount brackets contained unauthorized hardware on all four mounts, in violation of T.O. 1A-10A-3-1; improper hardware could have led to faulty slat and slat actuator operations during flight. Additionally, the right flight control roll crank rod was not properly secured; this could have caused uncommanded roll inputs and conceivable loss of aircraft control. Further inspection by the 43 MXS Fuel Shop revealed a leaking fuel boost pump and loose wing root attach bolts from weapons stations 5, 6, and 7. Also noted were hydraulic lines going to the left landing gear brake which were chaffing on the wheel pod bracket. Lastly, multiple foreign objects were found throughout the wing: line caps, castellated nuts, washers, and cotter pins. The 23 MXS-Phase section put in 96 hours of fuel maintenance and 48 hours of follow-on maintenance to make this aircraft airworthy again. The results of this inspection were quickly up-channeled from 23 FG QA and 23 FG Safety to Depot, where repair procedures were reviewed and revised to prevent future mishaps with A-10 aircraft.

23rd Maintenance Sqn., 23rd Fighter Group, Pope AFB, North Carolina