Mechanics Find Ungreased Jackscrew On Alaska Airlines MD-83

It was an eerily familiar discovery. Six years after Alaska Airlines Flight 261 crashed into the Pacific -- a crash blamed on the failure to properly lubricate the MD-83's horizontal stabilizer jackscrew, maintenance crews in Seattle found another unlubricated jackscrew on another Alaska Air MD-83.

Now, the FAA plans to launch a full investigation into the discovery, made by three Alaska Airlines mechanics back in January. The agency will also investigate a third discovery of an improperly lubricated jackscrew just last week.

As Aero-News reported in January, 2003, the NTSB ruled that the unlubricated part caused the horizontal stabilizer to jam, leading to the crash of Flight 261 off the coast of California. The plane went down January 31st, 2000, killing all 88 on board.

The horizontal stabilizer jackscrew is a critical part on the MD-83. There is no backup if it fails. It's supposed to be lubricated every 650 hours.

The first discovery this year came during overnight maintenance of an MD-83 in Seattle on January 10th. According to the Seattle Times, mechanics said they found no excessive wear on the improperly lubricated part. They greased the jackscrew and returned the aircraft to service. The jackscrew had been certified as properly lubricated by AAR Aircraft Services in Oklahoma City on November 3, 2004.

The same reportedly thing happened again last week when one of the mechanics involved in the January incident reported another "dry" jackscrew. The airline notified the FAA, which sent an inspector. The Times reports the inspector found the part had in fact been lubricated just they way it was supposed to be -- a finding the airline said called the January report into question.

The mechanics' union disputed that claim.

Who's Right?

Former NTSB member John Goglia, asked by the Seattle Times to review the mechanics' written report, said their description of a "dry" jackscrew certainly seemed authentic.

"This report should be a wake-up call for the quality-assurance department of Alaska Airlines that they need to step up the surveillance of their outsourced maintenance," Goglia told the Times.

FMI: www.alaskaair.com, www.faa.gov