3rd_quarter_07_Newsletter ELITE SDVCS Nuts And Bolts 07 02

User Manual: ELITE SDVCS

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The Southwest Region’s Airworthi-

ness FAASTeam would like to

thank you for taking a moment of

your time to read this newsletter.

The purpose of this newsletter is to

provide a means of sharing critical

safety information and items of

interest between the FAA Airwor-

thiness Safety Team and the avia-

tion industry’s Maintenance Tech-

nicians. Our goal is to provide you

with short articles that will help you

keep up with the rapidly changing

world of aviation maintenance, as

well as guidance on where to find

additional information when appli-

cable.

The newsletter will contain at least

one accident case study in each

edition that we hope will make you

think twice before you close that

panel during your next inspection.

We hope to provide you with arti-

cles that will be informative as well

as interesting.

In our “Ask The Feds” column,

you will be invited to ask ques-

tions about any issue or subject

that might be bothering you or

that you really just don’t quite

understand. We will do the

necessary research and share

the results with everyone in our

column.

Our column titled “Lucky’s

Corner” will contain an article

written by the one and only

Lucky Lougue from Air Sal-

vage of Dallas. (ASOD) If you

haven’t had the pleasure of

working with Lucky on an acci-

dent investigation, parts loca-

tion problem, or technical prob-

lem, then you’re in for a treat.

Lucky also conducts IA re-

newal seminars and is the “GO

TO GUY” for the FAA and the

NTSB.

The “Tech Forum” column will

contain little known interesting

technical tips and explanations

or advice concerning legal mat-

ters that we feel you should

know.

We hope to provide you with an

interesting read that might an-

swer some of those gray areas,

or provide a tune up on issues

you haven’t dealt with for a

while and occasionally, a ‘heads

up’ for what might be coming

down from the hill.

Remember, this is a newsletter

written by Mechanics for Me-

chanics.

Welcome To The SW Region’s FAASTeam

Airworthiness Newsletter

Nuts And Bolts

Who Is The FAASTeam?

On October 1, 2006 the old

FAA Safety Program died and

the FAA Safety Team was

born. The FAASTeam is a

smaller group of hand picked

Safety Inspectors that have

been given the job of reducing

accidents by teaming up with

an elite group of FAASTeam

Representatives from the indus-

try. This is where you come in!

We hope to accomplish the

mission by using a comprehen-

sive data analysis system to

identify problem areas geo-

graphically and then use our

resources to correct those prob-

lems. Isn't that a refreshing

idea compared to the old shot-

gun approach? If you would

like to get involved, contact

your local FAASTeam Program

Manager. They are listed on

page 5.

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

SAFETY TEAM

June 25, 2007

Issue: 1

• If you are inter-

ested in safety

and would like to

help the

FAASTeam

spread the word

in your local

aviation culture,

we need to talk

to you. Contact

your local

FAASTeam Pro-

gram Manager.

See page 5.

Welcome 1

Who is the

FAASTeam ?

1

AMO’s Take Training

Seriously

2

Ask The Feds 2

Lucky’s Corner 3

Meet The Team 5

Tech Forum

5-6

Accident Case Study 4

Inside this issue:

AC 39-7C in paragraph 8. If

they had intended to give relief

to type certificated products

installed on experimental air-

craft it would have stated that

in the regulation. The 14 CFR

part 39 rule says in part, that

when an unsafe condition exists

in a product and is likely to

exist in other similar products,

an AD is issued. It’s all about

safety to the flying public. If

the FAA knows there is a safety

issue with a product, it is their

job by law to require people

that use that product to do

something to correct or mitigate

the unsafe condition. Big

brother has no control over

where that product gets used.

That’s why if that unsafe prod-

uct has an applicable AD note,

and it ends up on an experimen-

tal aircraft, in the interest of

safety to the public the AD

must be complied with.

If you read FAR part 39 again,

with an open mind this time,

you will notice that there are

no words like “except for prod-

ucts installed on aircraft that

have been issued an experimen-

tal airworthiness certificate”, or

any other language that gives

relief from an applicable air-

worthiness directive. This is

not an area that has received

much attention from the FAA

Inspector staff, but we expect it

may make it to the front lines

with the influx of light sport

aircraft many of which have

type certificated products in-

stalled.

I always say “nothing happens

until something happens”. Just

think what might happen if an

experimental aircraft augers in

with your name in the logs for

the last condition inspection,

and the investigation reveals

the engine quit due to non com-

pliance with an applicable AD.

That’s food for thought.

The Aviation Maintenance

Technician Awards Program

for calendar year 2006 (AC65-

25C) offers a Diamond Award

Certificate of Excellence to

those aviation companies who

lead the industry in a measur-

able commitment to training.

To qualify, a minimum of 50%

of eligible employees must be

recipients of individual FAA

training awards in any given

year.

Additionally, a company that

has received an AMT award for

100% of its eligible employees

will receive a Diamond Award

Special Recognition Plaque

from FAA headquarters. For

information on the 2007 awards

program, see AC 65-25D since

the qualifications have

changed.

The following is a list of those

elite companies that realize that

a well trained technician is an

asset that will return the cost of

training many times over. For

the award year 2006:

Diamond Award Special Rec-

ognition Plaque:

Raytheon Aircraft Svcs.-SAT

Air Logistics LLC - ARA

Diamond Award Certificate

of Excellence:

San Antonio Aerospace-SAT

Chromalloy – SAT

Marathon Oil Co.-HOU

Texas Aviation Services-

FTW

Aramco Associated Co. –

IAH

Petrolium Helicopters - LFT

Aeroframe Svcs. - CWF

Tarrant Co. College - FTW

Bombardier Bus. Jet Solu-

tions - DAL

This question was submitted by

an A&P / IA from the DFW

Metroplex area that occasion-

ally does condition inspections

on Experimental aircraft. He

asks, “Do Airworthiness direc-

tives apply to engines or pro-

pellers installed on experimen-

tal amateur built aircraft?”

ANSWER: Yes.

This has been a controversial

subject for years. People as-

sume that because part 43 does

not apply to experimental air-

craft that AD’s are not applica-

ble. Wrong, it starts in 14 CFR

part 91.403(a) which says in

part, the owner or operator

must maintain the aircraft in an

airworthy condition including

compliance with part 39. Then

we go to , 14 CFR Part 39

where the whole subject of

AD’s is covered, and there is

no relief given in the rule for

experimentally certificated

aircraft. This is also covered in

Ask The Feds

Aviation Maintenance Organizations In The Southwest Region

Take AMT Training Seriously

Nuts And Bolts ISSUE: 1

Do Airworthiness

Directives apply to

engines and

propellers installed

on experimental

amateur built

aircraft?

Page 2

EAA Southwest Fly In

Hondo, Texas June 1,

2007

AAR - Oklahoma City

GE On Wing Support - DAL

Gulfstream Aerospace - DAL

CBP/L-3 Comm./Vertex - HDC

Citation Svc. Center - SAT

Helicomb - TUL

Nordam Repair Div. - TUL

Aircraft And Turbine Support -

TUL

Page 3

IA Renewal

It’s Your Choice On How To Renew, So Make The Best Of It

The purpose of this article is to help clarify the renewal process for Inspection Authorizations. As with anything

there are pros and cons. Last March the FAA passed a change in the renewal process, we are no longer required to

renew our Inspection Authorizations every year. To save time and money as far as the FAA budget goes, IA’s will

renew their Inspection Authorizations every two years, on odd numbered years. This change blind sided most of us,

including me. Once announced, I got busy to find out what this really meant to me as an Inspection Authorization

holder. When I got through with the research, I was blown away by the fact that the only change would be that my Au-

thorization would be renewed every two years instead of every year. This part sounds good, but don’t get too excited

yet. There is more to the story! As far as the requirements for renewal each year, nothing has changed. Under section

65.93 (c) (1) (5), you still have to "Qualify" for "EACH" preceding 12 calendar month period to be eligible to renew

your Authorization at the two year interval. To “Qualify” everyone knows that you can renew strictly on activity, having

signed off on at least 4 Annuals each year, having signed off on 8 Major Repairs and/or Alterations, 1 Progressive In-

spection, attend an approved Renewal Course or everyone’s favorite, "The Delightful Oral with the FAA". If you didn’t

“Qualify” by March 31 of that calendar year, you would not be able to exercise the privilege of using your Inspection

Authorization after that date and would be in Violation of Far 65.93 if you did.

Remember what’s important here — to renew!!!! You must meet renewal requirements by the end of the Cal-

endar year "EACH YEAR" (March 31) or you blew it. So, when you take a good look at this "2 Year Renewal Thing”

nothing has changed as far as renewal requirements for us, other than submitting the paperwork and getting renewed

every Odd Numbered year. So, my suggestion to you is to act as if nothing has changed and continue to fill out your

Renewal paperwork (FAA form 8610-1, not required but I recommend it) with your activity documented and/or continue

to attend the approved courses and stash your paperwork in a safe place so you can have it readily available at re-

newal time. Remember, if you can’t find it or produce it at renewal time, you’ve got a Big Problem! For further informa-

tion on this refer to AMT Magazines April 2007 article by Bill O’Brien on page 24.

Now that we’ve gotten all that out of the way, let’s talk about the advantages and disadvantages of how you

renew. By renewing your Inspection Authorization by activity alone, I believe you will miss out on one very important

thing! Continuing Education. This shows us what is happening in the field and industry!!!! That is where the Approved

Renewal Seminars come into play! Most ask themselves, why should I pay money and spend a full 8 hour day sitting

in a classroom listening to people talk and lecture when I already qualify to renew by activity??? To that I answer- For

the knowledge and updating of what we have learned in the past year from our own mistakes and successes and that

of others, that’s why. The FAA Approved Seminars strive to keep you updated on upcoming changes. Changes that

have already taken place and are in effect, whether it is regulations, processes, Airworthiness Directives, Improper

Maintenance techniques, log book sign-offs, paperwork changes and what caused the most accidents last year. Re-

newal through Seminars shares with you All of the combined errors, misjudgments, proper uses that are shared by

your fellow IA's. Instead of just acquiring the knowledge you gained last year through qualified activity, you now can

acquire so much more from your fellow IA’s as discovered by them, Industry and the FAA. Let’s face it; "SAFETY" is

the key word and focus behind the Seminars. It is your decision on how to renew. Think about being in a seminar with

150 to 200 IA’s with individual experience levels ranging from being an IA for 1 year to 40 years. Just think of how

much combined experience that is in one room that you now have access to just by being there!!!! It’s your choice on

how to renew, so make the best of it.

Lucky Louque, Air Salvage of Dallas

Lucky’s Corner

Nuts And Bolts ISSUE: 1

For the purpose of this column

we change the names of any

person involved and do not

release aircraft registration

information.

You know this scenario— New

student pilot buys a Beech

Skipper without a pre-purchase

inspection, (gets a heck of a

deal), and hires a flight instruc-

tor to teach him to fly it. After

a couple of flights, the flight

instructor tells the new student/

owner that he believes there is

something wrong with the

power output of this aircraft.

They take the aircraft to … let’s

use Joe. Joe is a good A&P/IA

that the instructor has used

before. Joe inspects the engine

in his one man shop and deter-

mines that the camshaft in the

little O-235-L2C has worn

down lobes and needs replace-

ment for the engine to develop

rated power. The new owner

agrees and work begins. Dur-

ing the repair process, Joe dis-

covers that the oil pump AD

was applicable and had not

been complied with and that

one magneto was totally

trashed and needed to be re-

placed as well as a timing gear

and all lifters. The owner

agreed to the additional work

and the parts were ordered.

During the reassembly process

and while waiting on parts, Joe

stuffed the crankcase and other

openings with industrial paper

towels (shop towels) to keep

dirt and bugs out of the engine

and he goes on working on

other aircraft. Sounds pretty

normal so far.

The parts are received, most of

the paper towels (all but one)

are removed, and the engine is

reassembled. The engine is

serviced with the proper quan-

tity and grade of oil, test ran,

and checked for leaks. Nothing

abnormal noted and the mainte-

nance records receive an ap-

proval for return to service.

The owner is called and told the

aircraft is ready for delivery.

The flight instructor and a

friend, who was also a pilot,

show up and take delivery of

the aircraft for the owner. A

normal run up is accomplished,

followed by an uneventful take-

off. During level flight, the

pilot reported a loud metallic

sound and the propeller stopped

turning. The pilot initiated a

forced landing on a golf course.

During the roll out the aircraft

impacted trees and came to rest

upright. The two occupants

suffered only minor injuries.

The aircraft was determined by

the insurance company to be

totaled.

The post accident investigation

and engine teardown revealed

the following:

The #3 piston was not moving.

They were unable to remove

the #3 cylinder. After remov-

ing the #4 cylinder you could

see that the #3 connecting rod

cap was destroyed by heat and

the #3 crank journal was de-

stroyed by heat due to oil star-

vation.

Portions of an industrial paper

shop towel were discovered

throughout the crankcase. Re-

moval of the oil sump screen

showed it was completely

clogged with the same material.

The investigation led back to

Joe’s shop where matching

paper shop towels were discov-

ered. During the interview with

Joe, he admitted putting the

towels in the engine to keep out

dirt but thought he had gotten

them all out. Additionally,

there was no one available to

do a second inspection prior to

installing the cylinders.

This is clearly a case of ‘Failure

To Follow Procedures’. The

Lycoming direct drive overhaul

manual states in part “prior to

assembly all parts should be

cleaned to remove all traces of

preservative oil and any accu-

mulated foreign matter.” I

think a shop towel qualifies as

foreign matter. You could also

call this a case of another FAA

favorite, ‘Failure to Properly

Inspect’. In either case, Joe

really messed up when he was

in fact trying to do a quality job

for his customer and be a re-

sponsible and professional me-

chanic. As a result of his inad-

vertent oversight, he destroyed

an aircraft, endangered the lives

of two airmen, and put a major

blemish on his record after

dealing with the FAA Inspec-

tor, and the aircraft owner is

still trying to get back the

money he paid for the work.

This case also smells like a

dose of “Human Factors”, an-

other FAA identified casual

factor in accidents. Perhaps Joe

was tired when he installed the

cylinders, maybe he was think-

ing about something else,

maybe there was poor lighting

in his shop, maybe the phone

was ringing off the wall and

distracting him, who knows.

We can all learn at Joe’s ex-

pense. If you work by yourself,

you might want to check your

work two or even three times

before closing.

Post Accident Engine Tear-

down Reveals

Paper Shop Towel in The

Crankcase

Accident Case Study — Failure To Follow

Procedures

Nuts And Bolts ISSUE: 1

The oil sump screen was

clogged with a shop towel.

Page 4

Experimental Special

Light Sport Aircraft

Page 5

The Southwest Region’s airworthiness FAASTeam is composed of four Program Managers. We are

located in Dallas, Oklahoma City, Baton Rough, and San Antonio. Each Program Manager is an A&P

Mechanic with IA, some are Parachute Riggers, Pilots and were DME’s, and we are all bi-lingual. We

speak FAA and Mechanic fluently. Except for Mr. Capone in Baton Rough, LA, he’s trilingual, he

speaks FAA, Mechanic, and a little Cajun. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have a question

or an issue that you would like to discuss, or if you would like to join the FAASTeam as a Representa-

tive. Below is our contact information:

Brian Capone - Assistant Regional Manager -Baton Rough FSDO

Phone 225-932-5926 E-Mail - brian.t.capone@faa.gov

Mike Jordan - San Antonio FSDO

Phone 210-308-3312 E-Mail - michael.r.jordan@faa.gov

Barry Proctor - Dallas FSDO

Phone 214-902-1834 E-Mail - barry.g.proctor@faa.gov

Steve Keesey - Oklahoma City FSDO

Phone 405-951-4236 E-Mail - carl.s.keesey@faa.gov

Meet The Team

This article was contributed by Jim Sparks, (I’m not Kidding) an

avionics technician, a FAASTeam Representative, and a writer

for AMT magazine. Thank you Jim for the informative article.

All Aircraft Must Be Grounded!

No, the title is not a catch phrase from a Railroad Executive’s conference. In

fact, it has to do with grounding as used in an electrical sense. Although in

some cases an aircraft is grounded when it is on the ground but there are grounds

when this assumption is not grounded. Perhaps Merriam Webster can shed some

light on this dilemma:

Ground is obtained when an object makes an electrical connection with

the earth: Ground is also referred to when a large conducting body such

as the metal structure of an aircraft is used as a common return for an

electric circuit and has a zero (or near zero) electrical potential.

There are of course positives and negatives (please excuse the pun) when using

aircraft structure as part of electrical circuits. On the plus side, elimination of

significant amounts of wire can be realized as only one wire is needed to feed

power to specific components and the return path can be through the airframe.

The down side is that many airframes are manufactured using aluminum which

Tech Forum

Nuts And Bolts ISSUE: 1

Steve Keesey -

FAASTeam Program

Manager

Berry Proctor -

FAASTeam Program

Manager

Mike Jordan -

FAASTeam Program

Manager

Brian Capone-

FAASTeam Asst.

Regional Manager

is a good conductor of electrical current. Copper wires equipped with cadmium plated terminal ends are often

attached to this aluminum structure using steel hardware. Just add water! Galvanic action occurs resulting in

corrosion.

Not only does corrosion pose a structural threat but it can impact the proper operation of electrical circuits. In

the world of glass cockpits where milliamp current flows are normal, milliohms of resistance can cause some

of the strangest electrical and avionic problems. Corroded grounds can also hamper operations in high current

draw systems as well. One of the leading causes of generator parallel problems is related to deteriorating elec-

trical connections resulting from exposure. In fact in some situations this can become a serious safety concern

as high resistance in an electrical circuit utilizing high current draw will result in heat being produced at the

corroded junction. In severe situations electrical arcing can result which produces a fire hazard.

Electrical bonding is another topic associated with grounds and requires as much awareness as the corrosion

issue. As the aircraft moves through the air there is constant contact with air molecules. This contact results

in an electron transfer from the air to the aircraft. In the event the aircraft does not have the ability to dis-

charge the excess electrons all or part of the aircraft will begin to build a significant electrical potential.

Once the charge is strong enough, an uncontrolled discharge will result and can cause radio interference as

well as cause physical damage to aircraft components.

Most airframe manufacturers will map the aircraft surfaces and design a route where static discharge can be

safely managed. This involves the use of bonding surfaces using a variety of methods including straps, wires,

enhanced electrical contact points and static dischargers. In addition, manufacturers generally build into their

maintenance programs a means of testing airframe electrical continuity as well as static discharge capabilities.

Care should always be taken when applying any product to an aircraft exterior. Certain commercial polishes

may not be electrostatic friendly and when applied to an otherwise well bonded aircraft will cause electrostatic

buildup and subsequent radio problems.

In addition to manufacturer’s recommended bonding checks, planning to have a periodic “Corona Discharge”

test accomplished will often pinpoint hard to find problem areas.

This process involves electrically grounding the aircraft and then bringing a wand that is charged to a very

high voltage within a close proximity of all exposed external surfaces. By monitoring the inductive discharge

rate a very accurate determination can be made as to what panels are conducting and which are not. Corona

discharge equipment cost upwards of $15,000 and is frequently owned by Maintenance and Repair Organiza-

tions (MRO). Testing on most general aviation aircraft can be accomplished within a short time and for a

nominal cost.

Who knows, perhaps the MRO will even have ground coffee without grounds that is provided by a well

grounded ground crew who have the grounds to get your aircraft off the ground.

Do you need to find or get information about any FAA office?

(click on the link below)

http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org

EAA Southwest Fly In

Hondo, Texas June 1,

2007