Flight Safety Foundation Aviation Mechanics Bulletin 2005-2006

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January–February 2006

Loose Fasteners Cited in Dash 8 Pitch-control Anomaly 20 pages. [PDF 595K]

The incident report by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said that tightening the nuts on a balance weight on the right elevator spring tab was overlooked as the aircraft was prepared for return to service after painting work.

November–December 2005

Loose Cylinder Nuts Cited in Fatal Ditching 24 pages. [PDF 368K]

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said that the engine failure preceding the ditching of the Cessna 402C resulted when the nuts backed off the studs after ‘the application of insufficient torque … during undocumented maintenance.’

September–October 2005

Fluid Line Mismatch Leads to Fuel Exhaustion During Oceanic Flight 24 pages. [PDF 291K]

A high-pressure fuel line fractured from contact with a hydraulic line on a recently replaced engine in an Airbus A330. The flight crew, who became aware almost too late that the airplane was leaking fuel, conducted a ‘dead-stick’ landing on an island airport.

July–August 2005

Fatigue Cracks Trigger Failure of TPE331 Propeller Gearbox 24 pages. [PDF 488K]

The Jetstream 32 flight crew had difficulty maintaining control because of severe vibration. After feathering the propeller, they safely landed the aircraft. The report said that this incident and previous incidents led to a redesign of the bull-gear assembly in TPE331 engines.

May–June 2005

Greasing Errors Cited in B-747 Landing Gear Fires 24 pages. [PDF 440K]

The report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said that excessive amounts of grease had been applied to the landing gear axles and that some of the grease was an incorrect type.

March–April 2005

Overheated Heater Ribbon, Contaminated Insulation Cited in B-767 Cargo Fire 24 pages. [PDF 418K]

A report by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said that water-line repairs during the two months before the fire probably were ‘the catalyst that initiated the … heater-ribbon failure.’

January–February 2005

Misrigged Elevator-trim Cable Cited in Raytheon Beech 1900 Loss-of-control Accident 24 pages. [PDF 493K]

The problem was apparent to the flight crew within seconds after takeoff, but they were unable to regain control of the airplane, which struck water off the coast of the northeast United States.