Bravo Zulus

AM3 Sean Hughes HSL -42

While doing an unscheduled maintenance task on a control-cable assembly for Proud Warrior 431's tail rotor, Petty Officer Hughes found another damaged cable. The second one was not visible without disconnecting the tail-rotor cable assemblies and still required his keen eye to see the problem.

Petty Officer Hughes' attention to detail prevented the loss of tail-rotor control that could have caused a fatal accident.

AT3 Daniel Collins, AD2 Alex Cardenas, and AO1 Zebbie Perkins HSL-47

During the launch of Saberhawk 72 for fleet-battle-experiment Juliet, Petty Officers Cardenas and Collings shared fireguard responsibilities. They noticed smoke coming from the No. 2 engine of the SH-60B, and quickly notified the plane captain, Petty Officer Perkins, who immediately signaled the pilots to shut down the aircraft.

A closer look at the No. 2 engine revealed a loose B-sump check valve. That valve was replaced in time for Saberhawk 72 to meet operational requirements for the experiment. These maintainers acted quickly and decisively, averting a potential engine fire.

Sgt. Michael Laurence MASD, NAF Washington

While doing a preflight inspection on a UC-12B, Sgt. Laurence noticed the duplex chain for the nose-landing gear looked odd. He believed it had come off the dual-sprocket tensioning pulley on the linkage circuit. After notifying maintenance control, contract maintenance personnel found the chain indeed had come off the track, and the tension incorrectly had been adjusted.

Without Sergeant Laurence's meticulous attention to detail, this problem would have gone undetected, and the landing-gear drive system would have failed, causing a gear-up emergency landing.

AD2(NAC) Carl Taylor VC-8

While washing Redtail 213, a wash team had on protective gear: splash-proof goggles, gloves, and cranials with cinched chinstraps. ADAN Richardson had climbed up a 15-foot ladder to pass a bucket of aircraft soap mixed with water to a shipmate. He unexpectedly hit the horizontal stabilizer, and the potent mix spilled onto his forehead. Some of the soap seeped under his goggle's foam seal, blinding him.

Petty Officer Taylor witnessed the accident, immediately helped Airman Richardson down from the ladder, and escorted him to an eyewash station. That eyewash quickly eased ADAN Richardson's discomfort, and, after 15 minutes of flushing, he was ready for transport to medical.

AE1 Michael Secules VFA-34

While troubleshooting a flight-control problem on a Hornet, Petty Officer Secules found a chafed cable for the flight control computer. After researching the problem, he found an airframe bulletin had not been done on this aircraft. He notified maintenance control and initiated a MAF to conduct a one-time inspection on all remaining aircraft. Five other aircraft had the same discrepancy.

Petty Officer Secules drafted a hazardous material report, and Airframe Bulletin 319 was reissued with a broader range of bureau numbers, including lot 19 and higher aircraft.

This is a well-known problem with bulletins. Once a TD is issued, a specific range of bureau numbers is listed. It is expected that in-production aircraft will have a fix "built in" for the original problem, negating the need for further one-time inspections. Aircraft production doesn't always incorporate a fix, and program managers don't always catch this error, as it appears was the case here. Petty Officer Secules has transferred to Naval Air Maintenance Training Unit, Oceana.Ed.

AD1 Gerald Laelair, AD1 David Cragun, AD3 Tammy Bookout, and AEAN Laura Nelson VFA-37

AEAN Nelson noticed a metallic piece of FOD on the flight line. She called over AD1 Laclair, AD1 Cragun, and AD3 Bookout, and they all searched the area around the aircraft, finding more pieces. Petty Officer Laclair and Cragun immediately recognized the metallic pieces as parts from a turbine blade on the GE F404-402 jet engine.

They immediately notified maintenance control and attempted to determine the origin of the FOD. They quickly narrowed the search to two aircraft, and both were downed. After a thorough look at both aircraft, they found Ragin' 304 had suffered an internal FOD of the starboard engine. The third-stage turbine blades had suffered catastrophic damage.

AM1(AW/SW) Joseph Borsodi VFA-87

While participating in a FOD walkdown, Petty Officer Borsodi noticed a nut and cotter pin were missing from the shroud-roller bearing assembly on the starboard aileron of War Party 402. A closer look revealed the bearing's stud had sheared off.

Petty Officer Borsodi immediately notified maintenance control about the problem. His keen attention to detail averted a potential emergency that could have had tragic consequences.

AE3 Marcelo Deanda VP-1

Petty Officer Deanda noticed an axle-bearing cap was missing on the port wheel of a sister squadron's aircraft. Having just landed after a successful mission, the crew had planned to refuel the aircraft and to reposition to another in-theater, forward location.

Petty Officer Deanda notified airframes, and a CDI inspected the wheel and found burned grease, damaged wheel bearings, and a broken wheel-locking ring. The maintainers removed the tire-and-wheel assembly, revealing a cracked rim and extremely worn wheel bearings. His actions clearly prevented a mishap.

AD3 Laura Martinez VP-47

Petty Officer Martinez noticed fluid leaking from the No. 2 propeller. A closer look revealed a leaking gear-lip seal on the propeller control assembly. Fluid had run down the engine cowling and had pooled in the engine nacelle. This path made the leak very difficult to detect.

Had Petty Officer Martinez not discovered this leak, the propeller could have had a catastrophic failure, damaging the aircraft or injuring the crew.

COPYRIGHT 2003 U.S. Navy Safety Center
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group