TWU makes fox news

[iluvaa]

Was just watching Fox news and they were siteing a report put out by the TWU set to be released tomorrow about 3 rd party maintance and the experts agreed with what was in the report. They were talking about WN and there maintance this is our chance to hammer home the chance to bring all maint back in house for all airlines

 

[iluvaa]

Bob Owens this is our chance to make a differance me need to be loud about this and dont stop until people listen

 

[eolesen]

Forgive my ignorance on the issue, but when is the crown skin inspected? Only on a C or D check, or is it a time/cycle driven event done during a line check?

If it's always been done stateside by WN's mechanics, I don't know that you want to be drawing any more attention to that than may already exist...

 

[TWU informer]

Forgive my ignorance on the issue, but when is the crown skin inspected? Only on a C or D check, or is it a time/cycle driven event done during a line check?

If it's always been done stateside by WN's mechanics, I don't know that you want to be drawing any more attention to that than may already exist...

Yes should tread lightly unless facts are in hand.
Not bring attention to outsourced maintenance....No way.
Perfect time for all stateside AMT's to bring the issue into the media.

AA should have a commmercial made that says "We might charge you for bags, but we don't fly convertibles at 34,000 ft"

 

[Bob Owens]

Forgive my ignorance on the issue, but when is the crown skin inspected? Only on a C or D check, or is it a time/cycle driven event done during a line check?

If it's always been done stateside by WN's mechanics, I don't know that you want to be drawing any more attention to that than may already exist...

We do not do detailed inspections of the fuselage crown skin that would find small cracks on the line. Not in any of the five or so carriers that I've worked for. We dont do it on the B-cks either. We look for damage from impacts, lightning strikes or failures that are obvious from the ground. Detailed inspections of joints for corrosion, small cracks etc are done in OH. How would you see it when its painted anyhow? Aeroman probably just told them to sand it down and paint it, we will see, or maybe we won't. My guess is that when they examine the metal they will find paint inside the cracks. Since nobody died this will be forgotten before the inspections are done, until it happens again. People love their $69 dollar fares too much.

Ironically last week when we met with the analysts we brought up how outsourced maintenance is a threat to safety. Their response was that planes weren't falling out of the sky yet and its been going on for years. We(Don Videtich and I) explained that planes are built very well and there's a lot of redundancy but maintenance is still very critical, sometimes defects take a long time to present a problem. We told them about the faulty repair (by Boeing oddly enough) done to a JAL 747 on an Aft pressure Bulkhead that took seven years to fail. 520 people died. If Boeing could screw up just imagine what a place like Aeroman or Timco can do to an Airplane, a place where you have Non-union workers who arent even licensed being told to get it out !

Years ago you mainly had small carriers and charter airlines sending out their OH, those planes didnt fly that frequently so the odds that sloppy maint would develop into a casastrophy were reduced. Often they sent them to the legacies for OH and they would work them the same as they would their own. Since deregulation large carriers started cutting back on maint, remember UAL losing a cargo door and a few passengers over the Pacific not long after Aloha lost its top? As a result the FAA put in place an 'aging aircraft program" of stepped up inspections.

The problem is that airlines lose quality control when they send their planes out to the lowest bidder for OH. When it was done in house the guy who did the work signed his name to it and he knew that if it ever failed he would be the one held accountable, by the company, the FAA and possibly the courts and the familes of the victims. Now in some of these chop shops we have one licensed guy signing for the work of 500 other people who may not even be able to read the manuals, its a problem that the FAA refuses to address, once again, the FAA loves those $69 fares too.

 

[chris perry]

....

We do not do detailed inspections of the fuselage crown skin that would find small cracks on the line. Not in any of the five or so carriers that I've worked for. We dont do it on the B-cks either. We look for damage from impacts, lightning strikes or failures that are obvious from the ground. Detailed inspections of joints for corrosion, small cracks etc are done in OH. Aeroman probably just told them to sand it down and paint it, we will see, or maybe we won't. Since nobody died this will be forgotten before the inspections are done, until it happens again. People love their $69 dollar fares too much.

Ironically last week when we met with the analysts we brought up how outsourced maintenance is a threat to safety. Their response was that planes weren't falling out of the sky yet and its been going on for years. We(Don Videtich and I) explained that planes are built very well and there's a lot of redundancy but maintenance is still very critical, sometimes defects take a long time to present a problem. We told them about the faulty repair (by Boeing oddly enough) done to a JAL 747 on an Aft pressure Bulkhead that took seven years to fail. 520 people died. If Boeing could screw up just imagine what place like Aeroman and Timco can do to an Airplane, a place where you have Non-union workers who arent even licensed being told to get it out !

Was this a AEROMAN overhauled aircraft they do 737-300 overhauls for Southwest? All lap joint inspections are done on our C check per bill of work. Im not sure what check southwest does Y checks i think at Aeroman.They have been under fire for doing unapproved methods on Lapjoints and skin repairs,was parts of 10 million fine that was settled......at Southwest

 

[N288AA]

We do not do detailed inspections of the fuselage crown skin that would find small cracks on the line. Not in any of the five or so carriers that I've worked for. We dont do it on the B-cks either. We look for damage from impacts, lightning strikes or failures that are obvious from the ground. Detailed inspections of joints for corrosion, small cracks etc are done in OH. Aeroman probably just told them to sand it down and paint it, we will see, or maybe we won't. My guess is that when they examine the metal they will find paint inside the crack. Since nobody died this will be forgotten before the inspections are done, until it happens again. People love their $69 dollar fares too much.

Ironically last week when we met with the analysts we brought up how outsourced maintenance is a threat to safety. Their response was that planes weren't falling out of the sky yet and its been going on for years. We(Don Videtich and I) explained that planes are built very well and there's a lot of redundancy but maintenance is still very critical, sometimes defects take a long time to present a problem. We told them about the faulty repair (by Boeing oddly enough) done to a JAL 747 on an Aft pressure Bulkhead that took seven years to fail. 520 people died. If Boeing could screw up just imagine what a place like Aeroman or Timco can do to an Airplane, a place where you have Non-union workers who arent even licensed being told to get it out !


Years ago you mainly had small carriers and charter airlines sending out their OH, those planes didnt fly that frequently so the odds that sloppy maint would develop into a casastrophy were reduced. Since deregulation large carriers started cutting back on maint, remember UAL losing a cargo door and a few passengers over the Pacific not long after Aloha lost its top? As a result the FAA had put in place an 'aging aircraft program" of stepped up inspections. The problem is that airlines lose quality control when they send their planes out to the lowest bidder for OH. When it was done in house the guy who did the work signed his name to it and he knew that if it ever failed he would be the one held accountable. One guy signing for the work of 500 other people is a problem that the FAA refuses to address, once again, the FAA loves those $69 fares too.

online.wsj.com/.../SB10001424052702304786904575580991048460452. html -


WN isn't the only carrier this has happened too!

 

[eolesen]

We do not do detailed inspections of the fuselage crown skin that would find small cracks on the line. Not in any of the five or so carriers that I've worked for. We dont do it on the B-cks either. We look for damage from impacts, lightning strikes or failures that are obvious from the ground. Detailed inspections of joints for corrosion, small cracks etc are done in OH. How would you see it when its painted anyhow?

Duh. Forgot about the paint.... Guess that would make it a bit hard to see...

 

[700UW]

You usually cant see cracks visually, that is why eddy current inspections are used to find them.

 

[strikeforce]

Yes should tread lightly unless facts are in hand.
Not bring attention to outsourced maintenance....No way.
Perfect time for all stateside AMT's to bring the issue into the media.

AA should have a commmercial made that says "We might charge you for bags, but we don't fly convertibles at 34,000 ft"

If I were the TWU I would tread real lightly with this because AA did fly a convertible out of MIA not to long ago! Who does our C-checks?

 

[Bob Owens]

If I were the TWU I would tread real lightly with this because AA did fly a convertible out of MIA not to long ago! Who does our C-checks?

I saw pictures of that one. The material failed along the ridge of where the skin was made thinner, it looked as if it was cut out. Very odd.

 

[Interested]

If I were the TWU I would tread real lightly with this because AA did fly a convertible out of MIA not to long ago! Who does our C-checks?

I saw pictures of that one. The material failed along the ridge of where the skin was made thinner, it looked as if it was cut out. Very odd.

I thought United had one like that also. Same type of jet.

 

[FWAAA]

I saw pictures of that one. The material failed along the ridge of where the skin was made thinner, it looked as if it was cut out. Very odd.

As if it was a soup can pop-top:

 

[Hopeful]

As if it was a soup can pop-top:

That's the "chem-milling" process during manufacturing where the original skin thickness is reduced in the area between stringers. That is why it looks perfectly cut out.
If you looked at that area from a certain distance and angle, you would see "square" or "rectangular" like depressions between the rivets. but they are not depressions, they are "chem-milled" areas.

 

[787nightmare]

That's the "chem-milling" process during manufacturing where the original skin thickness is reduced in the area between stringers. That is why it looks perfectly cut out.
If you looked at that area from a certain distance and angle, you would see "square" or "rectangular" like depressions between the rivets. but they are not depressions, they are "chem-milled" areas.

Exactly Hopeful...that's a picture perfect example of chemical milling fatigue blowout.
Wonder why though??...just a weak section of aluminum installed at Boeing when new or what??
Interesting...