Aircraft Incident

[The Goose]

Now that's funny!

Right up there with DO NOT USE THIS HAIRDRYER IN THE SHOWER!

When AO over-inflated the wing fuel tanks on an 80 some years ago during a check, the decision was made to repair the airplane in house. That was the incident that a gent wrote about on this board, describing the rivet heads breaking and flying around the hanger like small caliber bullets.

Evidently, during the course of repair, the motors were needed elsewhere and were removed - in place of their weight a concrete block that measured about 4 feet square was rigged to hang from the engine mounting area so as not to have the ongoing structural work affected by the missing thousand of pounds in engine weight.

Some wiseass (to this day known only to God), hung a 3 ft long "Remove before flight" standard red flag on the concrete block visible to all who went past the hanger - it was beautiful!! I wish I'd have taken a photo.

 

[tech2101]

Evidently, during the course of repair, the motors were needed elsewhere and were removed - in place of their weight a concrete block that measured about 4 feet square was rigged to hang from the engine mounting area so as not to have the ongoing structural work affected by the missing thousand of pounds in engine weight.

Some wiseass (to this day known only to God), hung a 3 ft long "Remove before flight" standard red flag on the concrete block visible to all who went past the hanger - it was beautiful!! I wish I'd have taken a photo.

A true classic!

 

[The Goose]

Another little funny - years ago, FED EX had contracted with American to maintain a few of their 727s.

One day, a 72 was pulled into hanger 2B in TULE to replace the vertical stab leading edge - it seems as though the pilot manged to run over a snow goose and center-punched it with said stabilizer, leaving a hole approximately 5 inches in diameter in the 1/4" thick aluminum of the stab's leading edge.

As is in keeping with the standard flow of feces (downhill), a couple of poor, low senior SOBs were assigned to removing the leading edge and cleaning the goose puree and goose crap from the area under the stab.

Below the tailstand on the deck was the remains of a goose, tongue hanging out and even though the critter's front half was relatively intact, the poor guy was missing his "pants".

An inspector's "Red Tag" had been tied around the goose's neck, duly signed by the inspector responsible, deeming the goose as being "unserviceable" due to its rather obvious lack of landing gear (of course, no mention of the snow being dead as a mackerel).

 

[Kev3188]

I've seen pictures and was told during push back at LAX the engines were started, but before the towbar was disconnected, an engine revved up, the aircraft moved forward, the towbar jack-knifed and the nose cone and nose wheel hit the tug.

This actually happened in my station recently.

A tug was being used to tow a DC9 that had gotten stuck on the runway. The plane had landed long (waaayyy long, and tried to turn around on the runway, getting stuck in the process).

As they were straightening out the A/C, some engine power was applied, and flung the tug into the side of the A/C like a rag doll. I was quite sobering to watch the film from the airport cams...

 

[KCKKen]

We got the news this week that this cluster(text excised) is going to make it's way to MCI for further repairs once they can get it good enough for a ferry flight.

What joy -- AA decides we don't need more than 2/3's of this facility, took out all the MD-80 support years ago, cut the headcount, and NOW they want us to un(text excised) this (text excised)-up.

Despite their best efforts I'm sure it will get done -- and done well. HOWEVER, remember you can have something 1)cheap, 2)good, 3)quick -- but only two out of the three.

 

[LAX AMT]

A used MD-80 nose section showed up here about a week ago. It's sitting outside the hanger on a LD pallet. Pulled it off of something in the desert. It's not off of one of ours. It's green and white. If I can figure out how to post pictures I'll send some pics.

 

[MCI transplant]

A used MD-80 nose section showed up here about a week ago. It's sitting outside the hanger on a LD pallet. Pulled it off of something in the desert. It's not off of one of ours. It's green and white. If I can figure out how to post pictures I'll send some pics.

<_< ------ "Green and white"? Sounds like maybe an old "Ozark" MD80? :huh: ------ Soooo, indirectly, it is "one of ours!"

 

[LAX AMT]

<_< ------ "Green and white"? Sounds like maybe an old "Ozark" MD80? :huh: ------ Soooo, indirectly, it is "one of ours!"

Wrong color green. More like a bright lime color green.

 

[KCKKen]

Wrong color green. More like a bright lime color green.

Hmmm, I thought Vanguard had some 80's that had some light color of green on them.

Don't remember for sure, just remember their whole "fleet" parked here when they shut down. Or so it seemed -- planes would disappear and reappear while they were "parked" on a day-to-day basis. Near the end of their run they tried to standardize their colors (started with their 737's) but never got finished with it.

 

[Joe Patroni]

Wrong color green. More like a bright lime color green.

Could it be Alitalia green"

 

[LAX AMT]

Could it be Alitalia green"

No. I checked the first 45 pages of MD-80's on Airliners.net and the only thing that comes close is 3 mothballed airplanes in South Africa. The green is the right color but the white/green pattern is slightly different. It looks like the same shade of green that Delta used on some of the Song airplanes although I've never seen any Song MD-80's. I'm on a quest now. I've got to figure out who's it was. I'll go check it out today and see if I can find a data plate or any numbers on it. How do you post pictures on this site, from your hard drive not from the web?

 

[Joe Patroni]

No. I checked the first 45 pages of MD-80's on Airliners.net and the only thing that comes close is 3 mothballed airplanes in South Africa. The green is the right color but the white/green pattern is slightly different. It looks like the same shade of green that Delta used on some of the Song airplanes although I've never seen any Song MD-80's. I'm on a quest now. I've got to figure out who's it was. I'll go check it out today and see if I can find a data plate or any numbers on it. How do you post pictures on this site, from your hard drive not from the web?

As a former LAX AMT, sounds like I'm missing out on all the "fun".

 

[LAX AMT]

As a former LAX AMT, sounds like I'm missing out on all the fun.

"Fun" Quite the opposite. I've been here 23 years and this is the most screwed up I've ever seen this place. Gravity feed. All downhill!
Management wise they got what they paid for. A bunch of idiots.
They moved that MD-80 nose section today. It's probably over at the ex-TWA hanger with the airplane.

 

[Joe Patroni]

"Fun" Quite the opposite. I've been here 23 years and this is the most screwed up I've ever seen this place. Gravity feed. All downhill!
Management wise they got what they paid for. A bunch of idiots.
They moved that MD-80 nose section today. It's probably over at the ex-TWA hanger with the airplane.

Thanks for the update. I see nothing has changed there.

 

[LAX AMT]

Thanks for the update. I see nothing has changed there.

That MD nose looks like it came from an old Kulula airline airplane from South Africa. Thats the only thing on Airliners.net that matches. Of coarse nobody here knows anything about it. Won't even admit that it was sitting outside. :unsure: