Lindbergh himself on his famous flight from New York to Paris in 1927. The pliers were found when the aircraft was being prepared for display at the Smithsonian Institution.
Don’t Forget Hardware and Debris Tool control should also encompass other relevant items the aviation mechanic or engineer is working with, such as hard- ware. I once had smoke in the cockpit of an aircraft just after takeoff. Upon landing back at the airport from which I departed, I began a search for what caused the smoke. After about six hours of searching over two days, I found a very small nut that had fallen from someplace unknown to me and lodged itself between two poles on the master switch, causing the circuit to short and burn some wires com- ing from the electrical master circuit. I looked for a long time, hoping to see where the nut came from, but every instrument had corresponding hardware, and nothing was missing. My suspicion is that at some point over the aircraft’s long history, a technician lost the nut during a panel upgrade, couldn’t find it, and replaced it with another nut, leaving the original for me to find on my fateful fight. Unfortunately, this wasn’t an isolated
occurrence. Parts bags have been filled with pieces of safety wire, nuts, screws, bolts, washers, and cotter pins that were left behind after being abandoned during past maintenance. This author isn’t above reproach. Just
last week, I was removing the battery from an aircraft for a local airplane owner. After the battery removal, we engaged in typical hangar chat. After leaving the own- er’s hangar and checking my toolbox, I realized I had left a quarter-inch drive ratchet and half-inch socket on the wing of his Cessna 310. Perfect tool control, like so many aspects of safety, is a goal to be pursued every day, and every day you start anew. Having a place for every tool, using
foam shadowing to clearly indicate what’s missing, and asking for a second set of eyes to verify it’s a clean and complete job with all tools accounted for will save you from worry and embarrassment—and from being part of an accident investigation. Please contact HAI for information on helpful safety programs and literature such as our new tool control safety poster (p. 69) and our soon-to-be-added HAI Maintenance Safety Management System
(SMS) program. The program, originally designed for Part 145 repair stations but now adaptable to line maintenance as well, is just one of many safety resources we continue to add to our lineup to support HAI members’ needs.
HAI operator members interested in participating in the HAI Maintenance SMS program can contact me at
zac.noble@
rotor.org. Fugere tutum!
SAVE THE DATE
Learn more at:
conference.vast.aero
OCTOBER 4–6 Hurst, Texas, USA
In-Person and Virtual Sessions on Safety in Flight | Maintenance | AAM
70 ROTOR JUNE 2022
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