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Post by daoleguy A.J. Hoehn (deceased) on Dec 13, 2009 4:13:09 GMT 9
I know we all have tales about working Sixes and other aircraft. Some are routine others not so. This recount started when someone on a previous shift had totally screwed up the cannon plug on the Hot Section Analyzer. I got the task of replacing the plug due to my bench work and soldering skills. New connector in hand and my tools I headed out at the start of swing shift to the aircraft. I figured the job would take a few hours and not be a big deal. It was a nice summer night at Loring and I would enjoy the air.
At the aircraft I cranked up the NF-2 and pushed a stand over to the right wing leading edge. I noticed the panel was still off and taped to the side of the plane with a bag of fasteners. Ducking under the nose I pulled the power head from the aircraft and coiled it by the power unit. I also unplugged the unit from the ramp jack just to be safe. I red tagged the power door and checked the forms adding a red X condition for power applications.
Soon I was on the wing and had me gear ready to go. The job was a bit awkward because you had to be in a position between sitting and lying down. You had to be careful moving because you could slip around and slid off the leading edge easily. Needle nose, and cordless soldering iron in hand I was ready. Changing a multiple pin connector can be a pain, especially when there were no labels or color coding on this connector. So it was the old unsolder one and move it to the new connector over and over. Boring, but easy.
About and hour into the job I heard some units crank up elsewhere on the ramp and a second light unit start to glare on the other side of the aircraft. No biggy I thought. Overall it was pretty quiet on the ramp that night. All I had were a dozen or so more leads to desolder, tin and move. At least this was a newer connector and had sleeve wrap. I hated the older cannon plugs and mixing potting for them. Totally a messy job. Bending down with the wires between the fingers of my left hand I leaned close and started tinning the remaining leads. “FLASH!!!”
Vaguely I smelled something burnt and then a stabbing like pain in my back. Slowly I noticed a group of people standing over me barking words loud. I tried to sit up but then pain stiffened me out paralyzed. I had no clue what was going on. Blur again for a few and then I came to with two medics checking me out. My left hand was wrapped and really hurting. I had a neck brace on and couldn’t move. I was on a backboard. At the hospital they poked and prodded not saying much to me. Finally a doctor sat down and told me what happened.
It seemed I had been totally nailed by power from the aircraft. It burned a few of my fingers and thumb. The jolt knocked me out and off the aircraft wing breaking my contact with the exposed juice. I had landed square on my lower back on one of the half pyramid like ground receptacles severely bruising one vertebra and slightly cracking another. Uh yes… it hurt like hell. I spent a day and a half in the hospital before being let out. I had a back brace on, my left hand bandaged and lots of questions.
QC and the DCM’s office was the first stop out of the hospital. I was getting worried now. Did I screw up? And yes that was their jist of questions. After an hour it started to get clear. I hadn’t screwed up. It seemed some Airman had been tasked to check a few things on some aircraft parked on the ramp. Mine was the last and he got lazy. It was dark on the port side of the plane and he didn’t see the red tag. He also didn’t bother to check the forms. The airman just pulled the cables from the power unit and plugged it in. Then he hit the button. It seems the loud crack of electricity and flash from my side of the plane got his attention along with me bouncing off the ramp. He made a real dumbass mistake and almost killed me.
I don’t know whatever happened to the kid, but I knew he was in deep crap. I was just glad to have not been toasted. It proves that no matter how close you follow the book and think safety you can still get seriously injured or killed working aircraft. I was lucky even though my back 35 plus years later still hurts like hell at times. I do know from then on I was always a bit skidish rewiring aircraft systems, especially in places that you couldn’t see around you clearly. I also became more careful approaching an aircraft, checking all around it carefully before doing anything.
Hehehe, funny in a way, I didn’t get stuck finishing the connector change. The guy that did said it was a total mess and required quite a bit of new cable to be run. Somewhere I still have the old connector laying around with the fused tip of the soldering iron on it. I kind of thank God it was a cordless unit.
AJ
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Post by dude on Dec 13, 2009 14:32:03 GMT 9
It was night and I was going to use an FDT to check out something--probably the radar. The ground wire on the FDT was a stranded cable coated with some kind of plastic like or rubber compound, and was wound on a self-winding spool. On the end of it was a big clamp which I clamped to the airframe just below the radar rack. When I was done setting everything up, I plugged the FDT power cable into the now running power unit. What I didn't know was the FDT power plug was shorted out! I turned to see the ground cable glow orange and then white it's entire length; then the plastic coating on the cable caught fire the entire length of it with 3 or 4 inch flames! By the time I had the chance to say, " Holy ssss! Where's the nearest fire extinguisher, the cable snapped at the ground clip on the airframe and automatically retracted onto the spool, putting it out! It had a bad stench. What was left of the melting plastic on the cable, now that it was wound up, melted the entire coil together into an unmovable glob! Wrote it up, towed it away, got another one, and let the poor mockup guy deal with it!   Just as an FYI. The FDT cable mentioned was a static ground line that would normally be clamped to a grounding lug buried in the flightline just like the aircraft static lines. |
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Post by jimpadgett on Dec 13, 2009 22:52:35 GMT 9
Uh huh!
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tundra6kat
F-106 Qualified
Currently: Offline
Posts: 7
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Joined: September 2008
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Post by tundra6kat on Jan 8, 2010 18:46:29 GMT 9
Swing shift phase dock was right time to do a Thirty degree limit switch operation check on on speed brakes that kick out the drag chute to see if it was set up right after a switch remove and replace. No big deal we got the stand up there no problem side rails up to be safe check, electric power unit hooked mule hydro hooked up ready to go check. Had a new guy there been there about a month had a bad habit of messing with stuff right A Button pusher keeping that in mind, speed brake cockpit in the (OFF) position.We good to go hang on wait its breaktime no problem.The Staff Sgt running the crew was a great guy yells grab a coffee and smoke .We get back from break and wonder were the new guy had been saw him getting out of the cockpit we all think oh well just getting familiar with stuff up there like a good trooper.
OK speed brake check time. I fire up the electric juice its set check... Sarge yells hydro power on the mule he Starts it up check ...Then this is when the crud hits the fan he cranks up the two pressure dails for the three thousand PSI on the mule as he does this out of the corner of my eye I see the Speed brakes shutter a little as hes dailing up the pressure >OH GRAP!< I YELL LIKE IM DAD AND HES A RED HEADED STEP SON He sees what I did Starts spinning the pressure down like a raped ape as fast as he can but to late now we see the speed brakes speed up as the red juice is moving by now through twenty feet or hose THE CRUSHING CRACKLING POPPING SOUND OF SPEED BRAKES AS IT BEAR TRAPS CLAMPS DOWN ON THE STAND SIDE RAILS !HOLY BLEEP! DEAR GOD we in deep BLEEP now boss.All he started doing was shaking his head and cursing.Went to to cockpit and confirmed the speed brake was turn to the( ON )position.The chief Maint offficer the next day rip him a new one then some he looked like a beat puppy after he got out of his office the next day. I asked how much if sheet metal cant fix he says only five Thousand a piece WHOA! Well they worked there sheet metal magic took a long time but they saves the babies.AS FOR THE BUTTON PUSHER TOLD HIM YOU EVER MESS US UP AGAIN YOU WILL WISH THE RUSSIANS GET YOU BEFORE I DO! NEW JEEP WAS STILL IN DENIAL MODE. HMM.. nothing worst than a bold face lier.
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Just as an FYI. The FDT cable mentioned was a static ground line that would normally be clamped to a grounding lug buried in the flightline just like the aircraft static lines. 
