B-52 at depot loses flaps (Nov 2012)

This is an older story, but I just saw the AIB report website with it listed. In November of last year, a B-52 undergoing depot level maintenance at Tinker AFB, departed on a Functional Check Flight (FCF), after completing the maintenance. At some point during the flight, both inboard flaps separated from the aircraft. Now this is impressive, because those flaps are huge.



Fortunately they didn't cause any damage on the ground. This is just one of many examples of maintenance at the Depot not being performed correctly. It has led to several crashes (including the F-117 at the airshow in Maryland), deaths of crew members, and losses of aircraft. It's been going on for years, and we used to dread having to send an aircraft to PDM. We had one EC-135 that flew crooked after it came back, because they didn't put the wings back on straight.

newsok.com...

Which is why I dropped out of flying....the mechanics were all drinking vodka by the quart openly at work...( DFW BRANNIFF )..Then Reagan fired the air traffic controllers....then approach separation minimums went haywire with blatant disregard for three years or so......

I had no idea that stuff you mention could actually happen...dang the pros let something out of the shop that was crooked.....dang

...and from the rear of a maintenance hangar, a lone voice could be heard....

'Well I'll be damned! THAT'S where the pile of spare bolts was supposed to go! ooops...'

Thats not like a tiny little screwup, how the hell was it released.

reply to post by macpdm


Oh compared to others, this is minor.

The F-117 that crashed in Maryland during an airshow was post PDM.
A C-130 that crashed in Europe killing everyone on board was post PDM.
An E-8, two months out of PDM in Dubai on its first air refueling flight almost blew the wing off, with a full crew on board.
Our EC-135 had one wing jigged on higher than the other, causing it to fly crooked.
A C-141 blew a wing off in Memphis refueling post depot maintenance.

Originally posted by Zaphod58
reply to post by macpdm

 

Oh compared to others, this is minor.

The F-117 that crashed in Maryland during an airshow was post PDM.
A C-130 that crashed in Europe killing everyone on board was post PDM.
An E-8, two months out of PDM in Dubai on its first air refueling flight almost blew the wing off, with a full crew on board.
Our EC-135 had one wing jigged on higher than the other, causing it to fly crooked.
A C-141 blew a wing off in Memphis refueling post depot maintenance.

Man thats crazy and so scary. As if the job aint hard enough without worrying about bits dropping off and being killed.

reply to post by macpdm


Fortunately out of all those the C-130 was the only one where anyone was killed.

Just as well it lost BOTH flaps - if it had only lost 1 then the resulting lift asymmetry might well have been uncontrollable!!

reply to post by Aloysius the Gaul


Apparently several P-3s have landed flaps up because they've had that problem lately. I was reading on another board about this and someone said a number of them have had asymmetry problems.

reply to post by Zaphod58


Yes flap asymmetry is a serious problem and a/c have systems that detect it and stop flap movement when the difference reaches a certain limit - eg maybe 1 degree difference or some other small number.

I just applied for a boom operator slot at Kelly Air Field in San Antonio doing FCF checks and other flight testing...and now you have to put this out! Guess maybe that's why they are offering so much money for a train engineer to go back to being a boom operator!

reply to post by boomer135


Sign me up as an extra crew member. I'll help FCF.

reply to post by Zaphod58


I hope I get it cause I want to fly again now. lol

reply to post by boomer135


I just wish I was qualified. I'd love to do it. I'd even live in Texas for it. Hell, let me know if they need ramp rats. I'd love to do that again.

reply to post by boomer135


Good luck with the job opportunity and maybe keep a bag of bolts handy.

I love the b-52 even down to the way the pilots turn the aircraft on the four sets of wheels, such a large lumbering plane full of whoop ass, how long are the b-52s meant to be in service till ?

reply to post by ThePeaceMaker


2040 minimum. They're starting on another big upgrade to them, including electronics and weapons systems.

2040 minimum ?! Wow that's it incredible, is there not any ideas on replacing it at some point, once it is eventually phased out would future wars be fought with improved accuracy. Would the next bomber be in the form of the ramjet they are testing

reply to post by ThePeaceMaker


The next bomber will be a medium bomber in the LRS-B platform. They haven't said if they are going to make it manned or unmanned, or any specifications about it (at least any locked down). They want to be able to hit anywhere in the planet very quickly with it (a matter of 4 hours or less if they can pull it off).