Phase maintenance keeps jets aloft

Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Corenthia Fennell | Airman 1st Class Michiel Strickland, 332nd Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron F-16 crew chief, checks the wing of an F-16 for foreign objects and debris Jan. 28, 2011. Airman Strickland hails from Birmingham, Ala., and is deployed from Misawa Air Base, Japan.  

SALAH AD DIN, IRAQ

02.03.2011

Story by Senior Airman Tong Duong 

332d Air Expeditionary Wing

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq - Under the cover of a hardened aircraft shelter, maintainers peel off panels to expose innards of wires, hydraulic lines and electronic components. This stage of repair may be a sore sight, but it is a necessary step to protect those piloting the aircraft.

Crew chiefs are responsible for maintaining aircraft to ensure the jets are always ready to fly, but every so often, phase maintainers acquire the planes so they can take it one step further.

"Phase is an extensive scheduled inspection that happens every 400 flight-hours," said Tech. Sgt. Gregory Veil, 332nd Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron phase flight chief, who is deployed from Misawa Air Base, Japan.

Sergeant Veil explains the expeditionary aircraft maintenance units own the aircraft, and members service them on a daily basis, inspecting and maintaining the jets to keep them ready and in good condition. But flightline crew chiefs do not have the time to do extensive maintenance. That is where phase maintainers step in. As the aircraft reaches its inspection hour, the AMU schedules the aircraft into the phase dock for a tear down and, if necessary, repairs.

"We begin by removing 129 panels off the aircraft so we can see all the critical areas of the plane and inspect parts for damage, corrosion and foreign objects," the Elgin, Ill., native said. "We fix everything that needs to be repaired and remove all of the foreign objects."

For Staff Sgt. Jake Williams, 332nd EMXS phase dock floor chief, also from Misawa Air Base, there are critical areas that must be checked during the five-day period. Maintainers use a work card designating areas of the jet to be inspected: forward, top, wing, landing gear and aft sections.

For each specific area, Sgt. Williams and four other phase maintainers follow the work card, which may stipulate a certain measurement or task that must be performed.

"As we are inspecting the section, we are also looking around the general area, almost like a one-foot rule," the Great Falls, Mont., native said. "We check wires, hydraulic lines, conditions of anything that may be frayed, cracked or damaged, and we write it up on an aircraft discrepancy sheet."

All write-ups are then corrected, signed off and submitted to quality assurance technicians who will evaluate the work, inspect every part of the aircraft and review aircraft forms.

Sgt. Williams says he gets a sense of pride after the jets are put back together, engines are run to ensure an operational jet, and the aircraft flies the next day in support of a combat mission. But the sergeant said it can also be frustrating at times, citing a jet currently in phase dock that required the crew to pull a major component just to replace a wire.

"It took 12 hours [to remove the accessory drive gearbox] just to do a 20-minute job," Sgt. Williams, F-16 Falcon maintainer of 10 years, said. "It was a pain, but overall the satisfaction that you and your coworkers have found the issues and fixed it, possibly saving lives and thwarting other damages [is worth it.]"

• Date Taken: 02.03.2011
• Date Posted: 02.12.2011 03:33
• Story ID: 65297
• Location: SALAH AD DIN, IQ