February 2011 - Indian Airforce

The poor airframe tradesman then ran towards the hanger tochange over from overhaul to uniform as VIP see off is done inuniform. By the time, he reached the Bay in uniform, the VIP hadalready arrived. The technician immediately put on his marshallingjacket and was ready with his marshalling bats.unfortunately found that there was inadequatepressure in the cylinder. He reported this to theSNCO i/c of the aircraft. The SNCO i/c detailedother tradesmen, who had completed their Dl, toload a new cylinder on trolley from a distant placeand bring it to the aircraft. It was done and the No.1 VIP aircraft was made serviceable by 0545 hrs.The WO i/c then informed the tradesmen tocarry out Dl of the No. 2 aircraft too. The airframetradesman while doing the Dl was asked to hastilyfinish the Dl as he was required to ‘man’ the brakeof No. 1 VIP aircraft which was being shifted to BayNo. 1 for VIP see-off. He quickly finished his joband proceeded for shifting the No.1 aircraft. Bythe time the aircraft was positioned in Bay No. 1, itwas 0630 hrs. The poor airframe tradesman thenran towards the hanger to change from overhaulto uniform as VIP see-off is done in uniform. By thetime, he reached the Bay in uniform, the VIP hadalready arrived. The technician immediately puton his marshalling jacket and was ready with hismarshalling bats. The Co-pilot, Navigator and theground crew were already inside the aircraft. TheCaptain and COO of the station were outside toreceive the VIP.When the VIP boarded the aircraft the engineswere started as per SOP. After the warm up checks,the aircraft was ready for departure. The marshallersignalled the Captain to taxi-out. Everyone couldhear the increase in engine power as the throttlewas increased. Suddenly three fluorescent ribbonsbegan to flutter, one behind the nose oleo leg andthe other two behind the main oleo legs. The COOnoticed it and immediately ran to the marshallerto tell him about this. The marshaller prompltlysignalled the Captain to stop. The SNCO i/c ran tothe aircraft and took out the jury pins which wereattached with the florescent ribbons from the threeoleo legs. These jury pins act as a safety measure toprevent the three oleo legs from retracting on theground. Before flight, they must be removed or else,the oleo legs will not retract in the air. The airframetradesman by this time realized his blunder. He wasresponsible for taking out the jury pins before takeoffand placing them inside the aircraft. Had the aircraftdeparted with the jury pins intact, the undercarriageswould not have retracted. As a result, the aircraftwould have had to make an unwanted landing andthus delay the commitment. After the aircraft finallydeparted everyone began questioning the airframetradesman and sought for his statement.Why it happened?:- Numerous hurried jobs arising in quicksuccession.Arrival of the VIP before the stipulated time. Build up of unwarranted stresstechnician.Lesson learnt:-on the In stress, whatever is seen by an individualmay not draw adequate response from the brain. All checks and procedures must be donemeticulously. Supervisors must ensure no unwarrantedstress accumulates on their technicians.- LAC AK SinghINDIAN AIR FORCE 2 0 1 1 F e b r u a r y Aerospace Safety 21