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While reading a magazine during a phone conference yesterday morning (it was a work-related magazine, and only part of the conference related to me, so I wasn't *really* goofing off), I read an article about someone working on an ejection seat in an F-14. He was standing on the front seat and facing back to work on the headbox on the top of the seat. The seat fired, sending him to the roof of the hangar. The seat injured another maintainer in the hangar when it fell back down. The body of the maintainer who was on the seat landed nearby.
Basically, someone in the squadron thought up a quicker and easier way of repacking the drogue chute. Since ejection seat maintenance is rather tedious, and they wanted to get the seats finished as quickly as possible, they instituted the new procedure. The procedure was not authorized. Even though the safety pins were in the seat, which normally prevents ejection, one pin was removed to facilitate installing the drogue chute.
So, why do I pass this on? As Saabophiles, we modify the cars and do a lot of our own maintenance. I thought I'd pass this on to illustrate what can happen when we cut corners when working on the cars. Most Saabnuts don't really fall into the group of people that feel "good enough" is, but it can happen (especially if it's cold outside and you're tired, and just want to get the job finished, etc).
The magazine also had a Bravo Zulu section, with short write-ups of mechanics who did routine maintenance, but went beyond their assigned/normal duties and found dangerous situations and reported them. One found a frayed cable that could've caused the tail rotor controls to seize, and another found cracks in the main rotor swash plates. So, while you're working on the car, it pays off to inspect/preventatively repair surrounding items.
BTW, there's still a black mark on the hangar ceiling where the guy hit, and a long black streak where the seat ran along it.
Just some background info about myself (so you know where I'm coming from, and since I haven't posted in a long time): I'm an engineer (civilian) working for the Navy in the aircraft crashworthiness division. I've done some ejection seat testing, but mostly do helicopter safety systems and crash investigations.
posted by 138.162....
, Fri, 7 Feb 2003 16:47:55
, Fri, 7 Feb 2003 10:12:02, Fri, 7 Feb 2003 10:04:14
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