C-130s grounded: Aircraft to be inspected after Robins workers find cracks

[TroglodyteScholar]

Source: The Sun News

Air Force officials issued an immediate inspection notice Thursday to C-130 units worldwide after Robins Air Force Base technicians found upper wing joint nut cracks in an aircraft undergoing scheduled depot maintenance.

The directive, known in the Air Force as a “time compliance technical order,” requires inspection and replacement of any cracked nuts before the next flight, said Roger Drinnon, a spokesman for Air Mobility Command. The command, headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., is the principal operator of the C-130 for the Air Force.

...

For more than 50 years, the C-130 has been the tactical airlift backbone for the U.S. Air Force and for many air forces around the world. According to Air Force data, the C-130 first became operational in December 1956. More than 2,000 aircraft in 70 variants and five basic models have been produced.

The newest C-130s in the fleet, the C-130J, are apparently not affected by the new inspection order. Drinnon also said some exceptions were made for units flying critical missions in the war on terror.

Read more: http://www.macon.com/sunnews/story/641271.html

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Apparently this isn't going to impact essential operations, but this kind of action is nothing to sneeze at. Anyone remember when the entire fleet of F-15s was grounded after one broke up just aft of the crew station? I guess it's at least a good thing that this was identified by maintainers before any planes fell apart in flight....

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. I had mine cracked once... but that was on the playground, an

entirely different thing.

I wonder if these planes were approved to carry and fire the guns that they have been carrying and firing.

[TroglodyteScholar]

2. Configuration control

I'm pretty sure that any weaponry modifications are tightly controlled, but I've heard stories of avionics upgrades being done in a piecemeal manner..."Eh, the manual says to put the box right there, but we've already got something there. Hey, let's stick it over here instead." It sounds pretty bad, I guess, but with such a big fleet, you're bound to have a few aircraft with obscure configurations that require on-the-fly solutions.

[davepc]

15. The AC-130 is a different animal then the C-130.

Same base airframe, but they're purpose modified.

[Redstone]

3. Not suprising, with all the mods they've gone through. Look at how the C-141s started cracking

after they got stretched.

Redstone

[Sherman A1]

4. A lot of these airframes are tired

and we are working them pretty hard I would suspect. Wear and tear on the equipment is to be expected.

[TroglodyteScholar]

5. Yea...

What's surprising to me isn't the presence of wear, but rather the fact that such a serious defect was identified during maintenance rather than through a mishap. This story is really a credit to the mechanics, both military and civilian, who keep these planes flying so long after they probably should have been scrapped/replaced.

[jody]

8. USAF has an aggressive maintenance program to catch such things before aircraft are lost but

accidents still occur.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

19. that's why we've never lost a nuke. Because of aggressive USAF programs.

oh.

wait. We dropped six in the Atlantic. We lost two in the Med. We lost several in the Pacific, and have a couple missing off the coast of North Carolina. And then there were the six nukes ready to be shipped "by accident" to Iraq.

The point is, no matter how aggressive a program is, lethargy can and does set it. Even worse, sabotage can occur, especially if the congress has a piece of pork on the table to buy 1,000 new planes it does not need and the USAF does not want. My point is that this is a more complex issue than we mere mortals can understand, and to rely on govt. news sources is problematic, at best.

[Ikonoklast]

6. I wonder if it is a quality control issue.

Lots of real good fakes out there in fasteners.

Wouldn't be the first time a purported MIL-SPEC aerospace fastener was counterfeited.

[jody]

7. C-130, F-15, F-16, B-52, C-141 all have airframes that are close to or exceeding their projected

life.

Obama can either support new replacements or downgrade the USAF mission or accept USAF failure to meet its commitment.

The choice is up to Commander in Chief Obama.

[TroglodyteScholar]

9. Big decisions to be made.....

I wouldn't want to be in his shoes. Action is being taken to extend the life of some of these aircraft, but new weapons systems will be required for the long term. It's a shame that there's enough graft in the DoD to cast doubt on legitimate programs, and that the "black budget" has gotten so large as to raise concerns. President Obama will have to do some serious tightrope walking, but I trust his judgment. I don't buy the right-wing talking point that he's going to "gut the military." But he will definitely have to make some difficult decisions.

[Optical.Catalyst]

10. The Commander and Chief Chimpy wore out our military with an illegal war in Iraq.

Bush's greed in taking us to war for oil is going to cost us a lot more for a long time.

[bdab1973]

18. It's not just Iraq...

These airplanes are up to 48 years old. We've got 1961 year airplanes in our squadron. Most of the C-130Es still in service were made from 1961-1964. There are a few 1972 models around before production switched to the C-130H in 1973. But even those airplanes are pretty old.

Most of these aircraft needed replacing a decade ago. But the "peace dividend" started by Bush Sr in 1990 when the Soviet Union fell apart saw to it that the only major aircraft purchases made in the 1990s was the C-17 that replaced the C-141. BTW, all C-141s are now retired, there are none in service anymore.

[Angleae]

11. No more C-141s in service.

Last put to pasture two years ago. Also C-130s depend on model, C-130J models are still in production, however the E models are long past due.

[jody]

12. You are correct, the "Hanoi Taxi" made its final flight and resides at USAF National Museum. I flew

many times on the C-141 from its earliest years.

[Angleae]

13. I fixed them for 6 years (86-92)

Both at McChord and Rhein-Main.

[jody]

16. Have a wonderful day!

:hi:

[Angleae]

17. Thank you.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

14. I used to parachute out of them, much more enjoyable than the C-141.

[Mudoria]

20. Isn't the F-15 still one of the most capable fighter jets in the world?

Instead of F-22's at 350 mil a pop wouldn't it better to start producing these again with updated avionics or has it been surpassed by newer fighters from Russia?

[TroglodyteScholar]

21. I don't know anything about Russian fighters...

...but I do know a bit about F-15's, and yes, they are amazing. I don't understand why the US doesn't buy some new ones. If I'm not mistaken, new F-15s are being produced for Singapore right now.

[CRF450]

22. If they mass produce the F-22, prices will come down eventually

The F-15 has been around for 40 years, it needs a replacement and what better aircraft to replace it with than the f-22. Its 10x better in every way compared to the F-15 even though the current price tag is a bit steep.