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The 86th Maintenance Squadron and the 86th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron joined forces to overhaul a C-130J Super Hercules aircraft after a mishap last year kept it out of service.
“The aircraft suffered a hard landing, which can damage the wings or the structure of the plane,” said Master Sgt. Paul Weeks, 86th MXS assistant maintenance flight chief.
Before the 86th MXS and 86th AMXS could touch the aircraft, an investigation was initiated to determine why the hard landing occurred, what parts need replacing, and to ensure the safety of the maintenance crew that would be doing the repairs.
“Once the investigation concluded, we worked with our aircraft engineers to determine what exactly needed to be fixed and to make sure that it was safe to begin our work,” Weeks said.
Airmen assigned to the 86th MXS and 86th AMXS spent approximately 1,900 man-hours to make sure the aircraft was able to return to the mission. They were confident in the skills of each Airman to tackle all the repairs of each damaged component, without having to outsource the job.
“Group effort-wise we had almost every individual from every maintenance career field working together to get this aircraft fixed,” Weeks said. “Every gear needed to be inspected and several components were swapped.”
Ultimately, three motors and four propellers were replaced along with several other key components of the aircraft.
“We had to do a lot of maintenance,” said Tech. Sgt. Christopher Torres, 86th MXS aerospace maintenance craftsman. “The force that comes from the impact of an aircraft landing too hard on its tires or struts can put stress on vital components from the main landing gear all the way out to the wings.”
The maintenance crew inspected really small areas and moved pieces of hardware that typically would not be removed on day-to-day maintenance. They also used technology to scan the aircraft looking for cracks that weren’t visible to the naked eye.
“Our maintainers, in general, have a wide range of skills and experience to get the job done, so we were able to complete most if not all of the repairs here at Ramstein,” Weeks said.
It took 12 hours from start to finish to remove and replace the two motors on the aircraft, with almost every maintenance Airmen working eight-hour shifts, five days a week, to get the repairs done as soon as possible. Repairs of this magnitude were a first for many of the Airmen.
“Some of my roles included multiple inspections of turbines, compressors, gear sections, and of the engines, to look for possible corrosion, broken blades inside the motor or chipped gears,” said Senior Airman Hunter Havens, 86th MXS aerospace propulsion journeyman.
It took approximately seven months to get the aircraft back in the air, including the investigation of how the mishap occurred. The maintenance crew began repairs in late October 2020 and by December 2020, the aircraft was approved for flight.
During the maintenance of the aircraft, the 86th MXS and 86th AMXS proved to themselves that each of their Airmen could do every job required of them.
“This Class A mishap took people out of their element, out of their comfort zone,” Torres said. “We had a great team, everyone got experience doing every job. Organization and communication were vital for the effectiveness of our team. Our team has learned from this and we’d have a plan to tackle the problem if this happens again.”
