Crew Chief's Small Discovery Uncovers Large Safety Problem
ANN Note: The next time you read some
mil-ignorant know-it-all telling you how our armed service
personnel aren't up to the jobs assigned to them... tell him
to read this and then call ANN... I know a LOT of 'Sgt. Howards' in
our service and have been pleased to work with and meet many of
them. I wish the rest of the media had the opportunity to do
likewise... --Jim Campbell, ANN E-I-C
Sergeant Shawn A.
Howard is a defensive weapon of the rarest kind. He is one of only
a handful of Marines who ensure the safety of combat aircraft at
the depot level. He has a personal stake in such duties. Not only
is he protecting his brothers in arms – some of whom are
personal friends, he also may someday find himself in these same
aircraft over hostile territory.
Howard (pictured right), a crew chief in Naval Air Depot Cherry
Point’s H-46 program, proved his mettle recently during a
quality inspection on an H-46 helicopter being readied for the
flight test phase of production. Although those who perform it
normally consider the inspection somewhat routine, their attention
to even the smallest detail remains a critical function of the
entire production process. In Howard’s case, that detail was
simply a bit of “grease” where it shouldn’t have
been.
What Howard found was
minute metal filings that, when combined with moisture, appear
grease-like. The artisans commonly call it “wear
grease,” and often it spells trouble, because it can only
mean that metal is rubbing against metal when it shouldn’t
be. The filings were found on a bolt that attaches major airframe
components on the aft section of the helicopter. Howard’s
discovery initiated an investigation and risk management
evaluations by the H-46 program manager and fleet support team
engineers who determined that it would be prudent to detach the
aircraft’s aft pylon at the 410 station, commonly referred to
as the field splice.
After the aircraft was taken apart at the field splice, further
investigation revealed severe cracks on the upper right 410 cap
angle main bolt hole and an elongated bolt hole on the upper left
king stringer fitting. These two main airframes components take
almost the entire structural load at the 410 station of the H-46
airframe. These components are crucial to the safe conduct of
flight operations. Unnoticed, this helicopter would have been
delivered with a severe quality defect, and further flight in the
helicopter could have eventually caused structural failure of the
aircraft at the 410 station fittings.
Howard’s keen eye for detail and structural expertise of
the H-46 airframe not only prevented the delivery of a defective
and therefore dangerous aircraft, he also protected the reputation
of the depot. The risk management involved and Howard’s
decision to stand up and make note of a major defect on an aircraft
that was almost completed is no less than noteworthy, and led to
his selection as the Naval Air Depot Cherry Point Safety
Professional of the Month for December. His actions are commendable
and were in keeping with Naval Air Depot Cherry Point’s
business policy, “Relentless Focus on Quality, Unsurpassed
Service to the Fleet.” [ANN Thanks Maj. Allen L. Gilbert,
H-46 Program Officer for the story...]