Grounded 6 months, C-130 cleared for takeoff

Staff Sgt Cody Covert, left, and Senior Airman Brian Noonkester from the 86th Maintenance Squadron put the final touches on a Ramstein C-130 Hercules after being on a six-month hiatus. The 86th Maintenance Squadron teamed up with engineers from Lockheed Martin and the Warner Robbins Air Logistics Center.


Grounded 6 months, C-130 cleared for takeoff
Staff report
Posted : Monday Jan 28, 2008 18:52:27 EST

Airmen and civilian contractors have completed a six-month mission to return a C-130 Hercules to the skies over Ramstein Air Base, Germany, according to a base press release.

A “peculiar crack” prompted intense inspections of the airframe, the release said. Officials at Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, which contributed airmen to the repair effort, did not immediately return calls asking what part of the aircraft was cracked.

Lockheed Martin employees also helped analyze the crack. Airmen from Ramstein’s 86th Maintenance Group tested the plane’s engines and other systems at least once a month to keep the Herk in flying shape.

When the plane was finally cleared as “100-percent safe to fly,” airmen with the 86th Maintenance Squadron put the plane through a category 4 isochronal inspection, the fullest examination for aircraft at Ramstein, the release said.

The 10-day inspection included all parts of the plane — no rivet, tire or belt went unchecked. Even that mechanical inquisition was followed by several days of flight-testing before the C-130 was cleared for takeoff.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/01/airforce_ramstein_c130_080128w/