Recently added articles from Mech:
Reader feedback.
Mar 22, 2009 ... We recently received a letter from the commanding officer of VP-8 who wanted to clarify some facts concerning our article "It's Not Running Right" in the Fall 2008, Volume 47, Edition No. 4 of Mech magazine. In the article, the photo caption and the analyst's comments suggest that VP-8 ...
New aircraft, new problems.
Mar 22, 2009; ... As with any new technology, new aircraft come with new problems. VFA-136 aircrew and maintenance personnel had to deal with numerous such issues during our initial months of operating new Lot 30 Super Hornets. On five occasions, aircrew heard a high-pitched whistling noise in ...
A timely "hands off!".
Mar 22, 2009; ... It was a normal day in VFA-37 Power Plants until aircraft 304 returned early from its flight. After debriefing with the pilot on the flight line about his oil-pressure-low caution, I walked to the back of the jet and found oil sprayed everywhere from door 64 left, all the way to the left ...
World famous fly-off.
Mar 22, 2009; ... Troubleshooters work in a fast-paced, highly demanding, and unforgiving environment. They have to ensure every aircraft on the flightdeck is ready to launch at a moment's notice. Even the final flyoff at the end of a deployment is stressful. No one wants a jet to break, forcing personnel ...
"Probably" isn't good enough for float-coats.
Mar 22, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It's a normal day on the flight deck. You're standing on the LSO platform when a blast of jet exhaust hits you. As you're tumbling over the side toward the water, the last thing you want to worry about is whether you did a good job on your float-coat ...
One bad apple doesn't spoil the whole bunch--but 99 might.
Mar 22, 2009; ... Sometimes when equipment mishaps happen, there is a fine line between human error and poor system design. As you read this article, VAW squadrons are begging for a solution to a recurring, time-consuming, and possibly life-threatening problem. The system design in question is "the green ...
Good.
Mar 22, 2009 ... MSDS station central location--it's all about ...
Bad.
Mar 22, 2009 ... A/C power cord for FA-18 still in RFI status--shock ...
Ugly.
Mar 22, 2009 ... Rag was not accounted for during a fuel-maintenance procedure and ended up ...
Bravo Zulu: sailors and marines preventing mishaps.
Mar 22, 2009 ... AM2 Jessica Hayes VFA-87 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] During final checks on an FA-18A+ Hornet, Petty Officer Hayes noticed a cracked up-lock bracket on the main landing gear. She immediately downed the aircraft for this discrepancy. Had this aircraft been allowed to ...
Class C mishap summary.
Mar 22, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] From Dec. 10, 2008, to March 1, 2009, the Navy and Marine Corps had 23 Class-C mishaps involving aircraft. After review of several Class-C mishaps and initial investigations, 30 percent of the incidents reported this quarter involved towing or ...
Correction.(Correction notice)
Dec 22, 2008 ... The author of "It's Not Running Right" in the Fall issue of Mech requested to give credit to ...
Seventh annual aviation maintenance safety conference.
Dec 22, 2008; ... Calling all maintenance, quality assurance and safety professionals at Navy and Marine Corps aviation commands. Mark your calendars for the Seventh Annual Aviation Maintenance Safety Conference from 7 through 10 April 2009. It will be at Vista Point conference center, located at 1754 ...
In this issue: operational risk management.
Dec 22, 2008; ... This issue highlights the importance of operational risk management, ORM. It's a vital tool for your toolbox. If you think of risk management as a tactic that enhances mission accomplishment, you can see that we use it daily, normally without giving it much thought. We can and should use ...
Head over heels for ORM.
Dec 22, 2008; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It was a normal night in the VFA-103 corrosion-control work center aboard USS George Washington (CVN-73). The night-shift supervisor had instructed me and my co-worker, AN Garcia, to go to the flight deck to scrape rain erosion off the leading-edge flap ...
Warnings are given for a reason.
Dec 22, 2008; ... While accelerating through 100 knots on takeoff roll, an FA-18F lost power, and a loud bang was heard all the way back in the hangar. The aircrew executed their aborted-takeoff procedures, suspecting that the port engine had just been FODed. The aircrew stopped the aircraft and secured the ...
Hmm--this doesn't feel right.
Dec 22, 2008; ... My chain of command constantly tells us to stop the task and investigate the problem if we ever notice something that doesn't seem quite right. Recently, I put these words of wisdom to use. I had to do a routine 360-day inspection on an aircrew-survival vest. While removing the ...
Bravo Zulu.
Dec 22, 2008 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Because of Petty Officer Ashby's discovery, a ...
Shortcuts can kill.
Dec 22, 2008; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I'm a P-3 maintainer stationed in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. One night, I reported for my shift at 1430 to Consolidated Maintenance Organization TWO (CMO-2). I was the only night-shift CDI that night. Shortly after arriving, I was asked at the maintenance ...
Missed opportunities.
Dec 22, 2008; ... Excruciating pain, a couple of broken toes, injured muscles, hours of physical therapy, missing our cruise to South America, not being able to play softball or football at the command picnic, limited mobility, gaining 15 pounds of fat from not being able to workout. These are a few things ...