Bravo Zulu: sailors and marines reducing mishaps

Mech, Fall, 2004

AD3(AW) Dustin Davis and AT3 Antwan Shumpert

HSL-44

Petty Officers Davis and Shumpert discovered a hairline crack in the upper elastomeric bearing of the black-blade, pitch-control rod. They found it during a critical inspection of main-rotor-head components on a phase B inspection. This spot barely was visible to the naked eye.

Their inspection yielded two ready-to-fail elastomeric bearings on the pitch-control rod. Their keen attention to detail and solid maintenance experience prevented the possible loss of the aircraft and aircrew.

AD3 Steven Croxton

HSL-44

On a daily inspection of Magnum 450, AD3 Croxton discovered a chafed and charred fuel manifold on the No. 1 engine. He immediately informed his shift supervisor of the discrepancy. Citing the inspection criteria in the appropriate SH-60B maintenance manual, Petty Officer Croxton helped to inspect the manifold more closely. He discovered the charring had damaged the silicone fire sleeve and had contacted the inner fuel line.

He immediately downed the aircraft, and R was removed from the flight schedule. The possibility of an in-flight fire existed and could have been catastrophic.

AD1 (AW/SW) Jonathan Rothman

HSL-44

Working on a scheduled calendar inspection of the inboard retention plate on the tail rotor, Petty Officer Rothman found a washer that was hidden inside the de-ice housing assembly. This item posed a dangerous foreign object debris (FOD) hazard.

Using a borescope, Petty Officer Rothman then discovered two more washers that previously had gone undetected. His keen attention to detail and excellent maintenance skills prevented the potential loss of aircraft and aircrew.

AD2 Aaron Smith and AM2 Shawn Barnes

VAQ-133

While installing an engine on Raygun 531, an aft hoist-attachment bolt suddenly stripped, leaving a J52-P408 engine suspended and supported only by a cotter pin. With the EA-6B's engine in danger of dropping from the hoist, Petty Officer Smith quickly stopped the task. He and Petty Officer Barnes placed an aircraft nose jack underneath the turbine casing to support the engine until the bolt could be replaced.

Their rapid response to a dangerous situation prevented serious injury to nearby personnel and catastrophic damage to the engine.

AO2 Mattie Hackney

VAQ-138

While preparing for a morning launch, Petty Officer Hackney spotted fuel spilling out the starboard side of a sister squadron's EA-6B. A maintainer, who had been working on the aircraft, was crawling away drenched in flammable, toxic jet fuel. She knew it was a dangerous situation and quickly summoned the fire department and emergency-medical personnel.

Before assistance arrived on the scene, Petty Officer Hackney and two other line personnel took the initiative. They retrieved the fuel-spill kit and began to contain the dangerous fuel pooling on the ground underneath the aircraft. Another shipmate quickly secured electrical power on the aircraft, stopping the discharge of fuel.

Petty Officer Hackney's actions went above and beyond the call of duty. The drenched Sailor was treated and released without serious injury.

AN Phil Flores

VFA-105

While doing a daily inspection on Gunslinger 412, Airman Flores discovered a broken pin for the universal-joint assembly on the leading-edge flap of the starboard wing. He took a closer look and noticed this pin held the assembly together, He then immediately notified the flight-deck coordinator.

This item easily can be missed, but Airman Flore's attention to detail caught a downing discrepancy and prevented a failure in the flight controls, which could have caused serious damage and possibly death.

AE2 James Wood

VAW-124

During deck certification on board USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), Petty Officer Wood saved the life of an inexperienced blueshirt. While preparing for a night launch of aircraft 602, which had both engines turning, a young Sailor rushed to get his job done and broke the safety chain. Petty Officer Wood reacted immediately, grabbing the wayward flight-deck worker and keeping him from getting killed by the Hawkeye's prop.

ABEAN Jorge Linarez

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76)

During an at-sea period aboard USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), Airman Linarez noticed something didn't look right. This trip was the first time the ship was landing and launching aircraft, and he was on watch. Working on the port side of the ship and one deck below the flight deck, he was doing routine inspections. Moments later, smoke and metal shavings appeared from the fairlead sheave--an area that houses the wires used for landing aircraft.

Airman Linarez immediately alerted his supervisor, and all landings were stopped. They found the cable had cut into the hub. if this problem hadn't been noticed, the cable might have cut right through, severing it and causing damage and mass casualties on the flight deck. His prompt action made sure the malfunctioning gear injured no one,

See "Learning a Flight-Deck Lesson:" in this issue for the whole story.--Ed.

ADC James Schultz

VP-94

Chief Schultz found a hairline crack on a propeller-blade cuff during a preflight inspection. While looking at the cuff more closely, he found it had a significant crack along the trailing edge. Had this defect gone undetected, the propeller-blade cuff could have separated, causing an engine failure from foreign object damage. The discrepancy was corrected, and the aircraft was returned to FMC status.