Base incidents ! (Read 3,160 times)

Fire on the flight line

Bob Schiffer and I were manning the Launch truck during the second go of the day when we got a call for a "NO start" on one of the daily flyers. Next to dropping that 430 lbs of Constant Speed Drive unit, the starter was next in line of poor performers. The fuel / air starter was used every launch. I only remember a hand full of times we ever sent one out with air start only.

We checked the high pressure starter air hose from the aircraft system to the starter. Sometimes the inside wall of the hose would rupture and the air would blow a big bubble inside the hose, shutting off the air flow. Then we drained fuel from the starter thinking the fuel had either air or water in the flow to the starter. We then tried to start again, the starter turbine let go and spit a steady stream of small turbine blades at our feet along with some fire that set off the drained fuel on the ground under the aircraft.

Just as Bob pulled the CBM extinguisher over to put out the fire someone tells the cockpit guy to shutdown the engine. Bob is just getting the small fire put out when the J-75 dumps the fuel on the ground at Bob's back side. Bob is now standing in a bigger fire. He looks pissed as he redirects the CBM stream onto the second ground fire. The fire is out and Bob, being the calm, cool Californian that he is, climbed the crew ladder and started to pound the crew chief for putting his butt at risk. That was the only time I ever saw Bob and his temper. Just took a few gallons of JP-4 to bring it out of him.

Just another day on the Launch truck, "Jet 1".