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Article: Are vibration's dangerous?
- Article from:
- Flying Safety
- Article date:
- October 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 U.S. Air Force, Safety Agency. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In 1995 a USAF MH-53J helicopter crashed while flying a gun mission over South Korea, destroying the $45 million helicopter. It was only because of the aircrew's expert airmanship that no lives were lost. The culprit: a broken engine-drive-shaft-to-coupling bolt. No one knows how long this faulty component was installed, but one thing was certain, we could not afford to let a $77.56 bolt destroy a $45 million helicopter, ultimately costing lives.
Retired USAF CMSgt Jimmy Ramsey spent 20 years in helicopter maintenance and two tours in Vietnam as a flying crew chief and was the first to decide something had to be done. It was Mr. Ramsey who in 1980 established the ...