Check for cotter pins, nuts, and safetied turnbuckles.

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pelmet
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Check for cotter pins, nuts, and safetied turnbuckles.

Post by pelmet »

It really is a good idea to look more closely on the walkaround for these things. They can be of critical importance. For example, I like to check the elevator cable in the tail area closely, if possible, to make sure the bolt holding it on is secure. Sometimes, one needs a flashlight and some extra time to get a reasonable peek at it but losing an elevator cable can be bad news.

That is what happened to Javier Arrango. You can read about his fantastic aircraft collection at the link below.
https://www.airspacemag.com/history-of- ... s-3409154/

Then what tragically happened in 2017....

https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/loca ... 20439.html

This NTSB docket report with two pictures at the bottom shows why it happened.....

https://dms.ntsb.gov/public/61500-61999 ... 621218.pdf

Many of us don't think much about turnbuckles but we should know what they do and that they need safety wiring. In Javier's case, he was in a difficult situation because there was no way to see the improper maintenance on the walkaround. Perhaps all that can be done is a look by yourself as the aircraft is at different stages of the rebuild and possibly noticing something yourself. And we should at least know the basics of a turnbuckle and what it does.

https://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/aircraft-bui ... recautions

https://video.eaa.org/detail/video/6021 ... d4bVBvTCJ9
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