The Consequences Of Overlooking Aviation Maintenance And Repair... | Mayday: Science of Disaster

[@joshuapatrick682]

I work with a gentleman who retired from aviation maintenance and I never met a more detail oriented person who’s not happy unless every aspect of his job is done methodically and per routine.

[@TheGammingPie]

That means he cared about his job and the people who flew on the planes he worked on!good on him!

[@nicktynan1355]

To this day, Hawaiian Airlines(who I flew on last week, as well as three times overall) has never had an aircraft loss(obviously aircrews are also involved). That's dedication right there!

[@Ryarios]

I work as an engineer in an industry where the atmosphere is often classified as potentially explosive. We use various techniques to prevent explosions. However, my worst nightmare is to discover 20 years down the road that some system I designed was leaking and someone was injured or killed. So, I refuse to cut corners in my designs for these systems. I won’t live out my retirement knowing I hurt someone. Too much free time to ponder it.

[@rosen9425]

Same when I was working in Jet Fuel delivery. Rigorous testing for water, it was never skipped no matter if the batch was fresh and you've already done a load. Always testing the parameters so they match to batch specifications. Everyone seems to take their job seriously in the entire supply chain because I never came across a single anomaly to report.

[@moodyrick8503]

Indeed. I can't imagine working a complex job, where a single honest mistake could cost hundreds of lives. Kudos to those like yourself, for taking on such huge responsibility & stress. (zero room for error)

[@michael-4k4000]

Don't worry friend 😮

[@pylt93]

Often the design it’s fine but maintenance drops the ball

[@knowsmebyname]

Wow thanks for sharing. You could be grateful you have the responsibility knowing how serious you take it. Good post letting us walk in your shoes for a minute

[@Brian0045]

These are the reasons why my mentality for every aircraft I work on is that it is mine as surely as if I will be the next person flying on it. The aviation safety and accident investigation courses I took at Embry Riddle really opened my eyes to how much of a difference doing the right or wrong thing can make.It's scary how little it takes for the worst to happen.

[@juliemanarin4127]

We need everyone to be so diligent...as a person who likes to fly and have done so quite a few times...THANK YOU!

[@bobk2966]

Thank you for your good work.

[@pimpabootejettanut122]

As the son of person who will need to fly soon and a fellow engineer albeit in different industries, I thank you for assuring there are diligence in the maintenance of our infrastructure. ❤

[@JohnnyDanger36963]

Yer too rigid,too anal,im a D,E,i enginear andb befhore we inspeck we smoke a goodd. BLunt,cuz stres kils,relax dood.

[@ferrari2k]

I hope the managers who decided to cut corners at maintenance are still doing jailtime. This greed is just unacceptable.

[@thedream6791]

Yes, the challenger diaster

[@jerrykorman7770]

The beancounters who make financial decisions - for example cutting maintenance to “save” money - never seem to pay for their ignorant decisions

[@Mostopinionatedmanofalltime]

It’s not their fault, it’s the onerous government regulations and confiscatory taxes that cause companies to cut corners.

[@alexburke1899]

@@Mostopinionatedmanofalltimethis is kind of a ridiculous take lol. Regulations have made airplanes safer and in the airline industry are famously written in blood. Our tax dollars pay for things like air traffic controllers, faa and NTSB investigators to find out what happened in a crash, and most the major airports are subsidized by taxpayers because air travel is a good for the areas economy and tourism etc. So if anything these companies should be paying more taxes so we can hire more air traffic controllers and install better safety measures that exist but aren’t required at airports like ground radar etc. It sounds like what you are looking for is some kind of libertarian anarcho capitalism lol where we count on airline ceos to do the right thing out of the goodness of their hearts, and that is available in countries like Somalia but doesn’t really work well for airline safety. In theory airlines that crash a lot would just fail according to capitalist economic theory, but that’s not always how it works in reality and many companies will fly unsafe planes and defer necessary maintenance to save money, unless someone who isn’t motivated by money steps in and makes them inspect and fix their planes. They’ll even create fake records to save a buck as we saw in this episode, so I’m happy my tax dollars go towards inspections and setting high safety standards. There’s been so many near misses the past few years due to high air traffic and not enough air traffic controllers that we’re actually at another turning point in aviation history, where a wave of new regulations will come out after the inevitable crash and they will hire more controllers. Unfortunately an accident will have to happen first before there will be enough political will to fund the FAA and controllers better.

[@uipoiugthjkl5908]

It’s not always on them. Their bosses are the ones who make these decisions. The airlines. They are guilty, too, but it can’t be pinned only on them.

[@JoeyLovesTrains]

Damn I love that all these banger documentaries are finally being uploaded in their original quality 10 years later.

[@Knaeckebrotsaege]

10? more like 20. a lot of the footage is positively ancient

[@JoeLikesTrains]

What a fuckn coincidence our usernames are almost the same Lol

[@Vousie]

Sure, but you could also just buy the DVD set instead of wanting to watch documentaries that cost millions of dollars for free. In fact, we *should* be buying the sets, as that is part of what funds them to keep making these.

[@billyhillk5726]

As a retired helicopter pilot, I can tell you that the technicians working on those aircraft are outstanding ! 👌🇺🇸 There's always a dud in every career, but 99.999999% of A&P's, Pilots, and inspectors that I've ever known are dedicated to safety. Thank you 👍🇺🇸 to all you guys & gals that I had the pleasure of working with to keep me and my passengers safe 🙏👍👍🇺🇸

[@husky_47]

W przedszkolu wszystko OK? Nikt pilotowi nie dokucza ?

[@RaisedLetter]

Tell that to Operation Babylift

[@28ebdh3udnav]

For the JAL flight, it was documented that people away from the crash site, people in the villages and surrounding areas state that they heard people screaming and crying for help for hours and the screams and cry for help slowly diminished. The Japanese government delayed rescue til the following morning. If they had gone right there and then, many more may have been saved.

[@tannerhughes6274]

Part of the delay for the rescue is because there were different agencies arguing with each other about who was going to be the group that was going to be the rescuing agency vs the other. Then when they decided who was going to conduct the rescue, while on their way that group stopped at a village at the base of the mountain that night and rested before going up the next morning. They did that because all the high officials believed that no one would be able to survive a crash like that, so they handled it was a recovery operation vs a rescue operation. And what you’re talking about is the accounts of the account of the survivors who recall hearing the screams and cry’s for help and slowly die out.

[@mikethompson3534]

It’s because Japan is a country of highly efficient mentality that they are really the most inefficient mentality as they do everything so efficient that they become inefficient in other words they have no common sense example! everything they do must have the T crossed and the i dotted before any action can proceed

[@KevinKickChannel]

@@tannerhughes6274 In addition, the Japanese refused help from a nearby US military base. The Japanese government at the time wanted to show to the Japanese people and the rest of the world that they could deal with a situation like this by themselves.

[@knowsmebyname]

This is shocking! In the US (for all our faults) everyone just runs pell mell to accidents and does what they can. Federal and state agencies are the same.

[@JohnnyDanger36963]

The crash was on the 13th day. To rescue would ruin the Sacrifice and it deathEnergy harvest and food for the demons in exchange for prosperity,power reality benifits.

[@Mtlmshr]

The fact that four people survived that JAL crash is simply amazing in and of itself! The chances of surviving that are simply phenomenal!

[@Align700nitro]

The sad fact is, there were a lot more people on that flight survive the crash but freezed to death in that cold mountain night because of delayed rescue.

[@SpaceEag11]

Froze*

[@michaelanderson3696]

Was it 4 including the stewardess, or 4 plus the stewardess?

[@lethabrooks9112]

There wouldve been more survivors if the Japanese Rescuers wouldve accepted the help the US Military offered to rescue survivors.

[@justafan1794]

​@Michael Anderson From what I remember, one of the survivors was an off-duty flight attendant for JAL. When the explosion occurred she offered her assistance despite being off duty.

[@bassboosted9708]

Proud to say as an licensed aircraft engineer for over 20 years with Airframe & Powerplant and Avionics rating and worked in aricrafts like B747, B787, B777, A330, A345, A350, A380; I did my utmost best to maintain the aircraft during my routine checks and not cut corners to make the plane airworthy and prevent avoidable accidents like this knowing lives of the passengers and crews are at risk.

[@slamdunktiger]

Kudos to you sir

[@pejisan]

❤️❤️❤️

[@jtabal100]

❤

[@Kenneth-tz4sx]

I was building 737s on the Renton flight line during the rudder failures. We had to test and retest brand new parts on brand new aircraft. It's like tracking a ghost. You're looking for a trail from something that doesn't exist. Also did contract maintenance work years later. Herein lies the rub. Airlines have "workcards", a specific task to accomplish with only X amount of time. I remember working cards in Duluth Minnesota on A320s. Those people up there simply didn't give a ish. If the card said three hours to clean the circuit breaker box you better be done in three hours or less. Doesn't matter how much debris and dust you encounter, just make the clock happy. BTW, dust and debris around wires and circuit breakers has caused many aircraft fires. I was so glad I got another job offer after only four weeks. I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

[@johnharris6655]

My neighbor is an Army Helicopter Pilot. I asked him why he does not leave for a higher paying Civilian job He said the Army does not cut corners on Maintenance.

[@rael5469]

"He said the Army does not cut corners on Maintenance." Wanna bet? Military mechanics are not licensed Airframe and Powerplant mechanics. They are under qualified compared to most civilian aircraft mechanics.

[@tigertiger1699]

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹 unbelievable that civilians do eh..

[@rael5469]

@@tigertiger1699 Exact opposite is true. The Army Helicopter Pilot doesn't know what he's talking about.

[@HJBounell]

shullbit. As a oh58, uh1 and uh60 mechanic for 20 years I can tell you that the first thing cut was the corners! Example........in 1984 the US ARMY decided to buy jet ranger pushtubes for the 58's.......after 6 crashes from rod end failures during autorotations that the Army went back to the proper pushtubes

[@derpinguin7003]

Sure 🤣 army doesn’t cut corners 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@alanmacification]

In my working career, I have found that management has a very difficult time comprehending maintenance and repair. The conflict starts at the interface of accountancy and engineering. Way back in the day, that interface was between the CEO and the bank, then between the CEO and his accountants. It eventually progressed through the management system until it reached the " shop floor ". Case in point: Boeing. Also, an airline crashed an L1011 into the Everglades and made a profit on the insurance payout. Managers are always looking for ways to cheat the system, save money, and get their " attaboys ". No manager would risk going beyond meeting minimum regulations when upper management resents even that much regulation.

[@MrFlyingPanda]

it's all about indicators now.. no training needed, no brain either. you can read an ikea manual, it's good enough.. combiend with low wages and nagging from above, the perfect storm.. it's coming and they know it :) they showed us the figures..

[@justlucky8254]

Some incentives and bonuses shouldn't exist because they create risk.

[@billolsen4360]

The FAA should have their inspectors out looking for airlines cutting corners like this if they're in bad financial shape.

[@billolsen4360]

And when the airlines' managers' actions result in shoddy maintenance, whether or not it's caused injury or death to employees or passengers, the result should be prosecution and prison time. If I drive recklessly on a public road, I should expect to get arrested or at least ticketed for simply endangering others, whether I cause a collision or not.

[@andrewallen9993]

@@billolsen4360 you mean the Fncking Awful Amateurs who let Boeing get away with murdering 340 people with the MCAS on the 737 MAX????

[@prevost8686]

How 4 people survived the JAL crash is a miracle in itself.

[@austinfarley4971]

I feel bad for the guy who worked on the ASA 529. He was just doing what he was told and now he lives with the guilt of what happened.

[@MGower4465]

An "A" check is *not* a simple walk-around. That's one of the "line checks". A checks are extensive visual inspections of the areas not visible during line checks, including the top of tge fuselage, empennage, and top of wings. C checks do not take hundreds of hours. They take thousands of hours involving dozens of specialists working on various areas at the same time, and take up to 2 weeks weeks of hangar time. They cannot be done in one night.

[@pi.actual]

Yea I was going to say, if those SWA mechanics are doing a C-check overnight they're missing a lot of stuff. LoL

[@GBelly-tf9sq]

Southwest does segmented ‘C’ checks. They parse it out over weeks. They were accomplishing a phase of the ‘C’ check that evening.

[@pi.actual]

@@GBelly-tf9sq I see. One thing to note, each airline has their own approved maintenance program and while they are not all identical, in scope they accomplish the same thing. I was at UAL for 34 years.

[@Mtlmshr]

At the end of this video the inspector says these planes should last “forever” if maintained correctly, well all you have to do is look at the B52❤, here is a plane that not only is maintained but upgraded on a regular basis and some of those airframes are over 70 years old and they expect them to fly for another 30-50 years! That’s utterly amazing!

[@rael5469]

B-52s have VERY few hours on them. B-52s fly a fraction of the hours compared to airliners. I think I read somewhere that a B-52 only flies around 380 hours per year. An airliner flies ten times that much and has ten times as many hours on the airframe.

[@Mtlmshr]

@@rael5469 actually there are many if not existing B52’s were part of chrome dome that had at minimum three aircraft in the air circling above Canada & Alaska during the Cold War 24 hrs a day 7 days a week so even though most Civilian aircraft probably have more cycles on them the actual flying hours on many B52’s is very substantial! There is a reason they have refueling capability that civilian aircraft do not have, just a thought?

[@rael5469]

@@Mtlmshr The oldest B-52H is at 21,000 hours. The average is 17,000. I just worked on an airliner last night that has over 100,000 hours and it is MUCH younger than the B-52H.....and still in service. See what I mean? That's just the reality of it. Air Force aircraft hardly ever get off the ground. Not like airliners.

[@justlucky8254]

I guess that depends on how much of the machine they are willing to replace in maintenance. Nothing lasts forever, especially metal and composite components that are repeatedly put thru the same stresses time and again. If the maintenance cycle includes ultimately replacing every single component at some point, then such machines could basically last forever, although absolutely no part would be original after a period of time.

[@jakem7838]

The limiting factor of the B-52 is the upper wing surface. It has a operational life of about 35000 hrs. The B-52s have very low hours compared to their age. Most military aircraft have lower flight hours compared to commercial aircraft, and MUCH lower cycles. I recently worked on a 31 year old MD-11 with 110000 hours and 30000+ cycles. It is a McDonnell Douglas aircraft so it's built like a tank.

[@SylverMage]

It makes me sad to hear the technician's regret in regards to the propeller. There was a hole in his training, and the equipment he was given to use was ill-suited to the task. I can't imagine how I'd feel, but even though it's his initials on the paper, I feel like he had a minimal amount of fault. You can't fix what you don't know is wrong.

[@katherineberger6329]

Probably doesn't stop the nightmares. If you have normal human compassion you're still going to wrestle with the fact that you should have known, you should have blown the whistle and stopped the whole thing, but you didn't - whether or not you reasonably could have. I just hope that man had a good therapist.

[@chippyjohn1]

If someone is confident enough to work on a life critical component without proper engineering knowledge, it is their fault.

[@christianjohnsalvador1121]

currently taking aircraft maintenance as my 2nd course. there's one thing all my instructors told me, "follow the manual and paperworks, unless you want the pilot and passengers to meet Jesus or Allah"

[@RowletGod69]

Not Jesus or Allah 😭

[@deafmusician2]

One thing I learned early on in my A&P career is: fix it like it's YOUR ass in the airplane.

[@Ryarios]

Or worse, when you get there and have to face them and explain why you killed them.

[@furiousdoe7779]

Go and find another job.

[@johnringoo756]

Absolutely mind boggling , the operation maintenance and creation of a plane

[@Footy_Fan]

I have long, long been extraordinarily angry that no one served any prison time over the Alaska Airlines crash.

[@marcleblanc3602]

Yes airline has a special favoritism regarding Responsibility, and cheating.

[@pieterpretorius1014]

i feel the faa should've yanked their operations license for being so negligent

[@EvertG8086]

Corporations are humans didn’t you know ?😊

[@Lozzie74]

@@EvertG8086 the leaders of those corporations should have had lots of time in the communal showers

[@marcleblanc3602]

Corporations are not human, so why should they have human ... econexus Although corporations are people (persons), they do not have bodies that can be imprisoned. They often create and use subsidiary corporations with no assets to ...

[@davidalexander287]

I gave up watching this at 1:19 A walk around IS NOT an A-Check, and you cannot complete a C-check over night. Yes, I am an aircraft maintenance engineer.

[@ryangjewell]

Yup, I had to rewind to see if I misheard.

[@johnlang3198]

As a former inspector I very much agree

[@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823]

It didn't sound right to me...

[@Watchingyou-daily]

There is no way to finish a C check in one 12 hour shift on a 737NG-700

[@rael5469]

That's right. Thank you.

[@Knaeckebrotsaege]

12 hour? welp... 47:05

[@rael5469]

@@Knaeckebrotsaege That's a bald faced lie. Thanks for the laugh. Southwest is shoveling a mountain of BS in this one. Too funny.

[@Knaeckebrotsaege]

@@rael5469 aaand your reply got censored. I can read it in the notification email, but it doesn't show up here

[@rael5469]

@@Knaeckebrotsaege What are you talking about, I can see my reply right here.

[@m3redgt]

"a missing screw can jeoperdize the safety of a flight" well that one aged like fine wine

[@jed-henrywitkowski6470]

My sympathies to the maintainer who, despite doing his best was partly responsible for the downing of that turboprop airplane. On a lighter note, while I know what went into the construction of the Wright Flyer, I was not expecting it to have as many parts as it did!

[@katherineberger6329]

If that was me I think I would have nightmares every night about the people who died because I didn't know something.

[@Jerry-yc2gt]

Wow...where to start! Alaska Airlines flight ✈️ 261 was not 🚫 brought down by faulty maintenance. No airplane maintenance is performed without paperwork to tell the mechanics what to do. And even more paperwork to tell the mechanics how to do it (the maintenance manual, structural repair manual, etc.). Simply put: no paperwork = no maintenance. The jackscrew inspection and maintenance (lubrication) was pushed back from 600 hours to 2,400 hours. This crash is on Alaska Airlines maintenance management. As for the Southwest Airlines 737, the "C" and "D" maintenance checks will not 🚫 ever be done in one 8/10/12 hour shift. It's just not 🚫 going to happen. And most of the time, a "C" check is done with the aircraft on jacks, and all of the time on a "D" check. And now the JAL 123 crash. After the tail strike, JAL contacted Boeing engineering in Everett, Washington (not Seattle) where the 747 was manufactured (the line is closed now). It was a Boeing structural engineer that came up with the repair, not a JAL mechanic. The JAL structural mechanic performed the repair as instructed by Boeing. If I remember correctly, this Boeing engineer committed suicide after the crash. How do I know all of this? I have two F.A.A. licenses, airframe and powerplant. I worked on Boeing commercial aircraft for 20 years. As an industry insider, I was privy to reading the N.T.S.B. A.A.I.B. crash reports. Keep 'em flying boys!

[@wizquinn8021]

Retired A&P here. Yup

[@mikeh.7499]

@@wizquinn8021 A and P ?

[@eduardgenardandalis1437]

@@mikeh.7499Airframe & Powerplant mechanic

[@mikeh.7499]

@@eduardgenardandalis1437 thanks!

[@eduardgenardandalis1437]

@@mikeh.7499 You’re welcome

[@Sahilprakash1999]

4 scenes of Air Disaster 2:29 1. Alaska Airlines Flight 261 🇺🇸 10:24 2. Japan Airlines Flight 123 🇯🇵 17:21 3. Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529 🇺🇸 27:37 4. Swiss Air Flight 111 🇨🇭

[@moodyrick8503]

_No room for error, with devastating consequences ;_ Most jobs, when you make a small honest mistake, hundreds of people don't die. Even a surgeon, only risks a single life, but hundreds, I can't imagine having that weigh on your conscience, with _thousands of little repair details that can go wrong._ *Sometimes, one little mistake, can lead to total destruction.*

[@radfem2010]

This is true. One of my parents' friends died on AA 191 where there were shortcuts made in engine/phylon removal and reattachment during its "C" check in Tulsa to save money but it cost lives. And the "C" check caused the problem rather than discovering a previously unknown one. They had to ground the fleet of DC-10s b/c other airlines besides American Airlines were taking similar shortcuts.

[@katherineberger6329]

The Dash Crash 10 was a problem airplane from the beginning. The Mustard video on the troubles of the DC-10 shows off the biggest flaws, but the biggest flaw of all was McDonnell Douglas's corporate attitude of the bottom line, which hollowed out Boeing from the inside after the merger.

[@TheSjuris]

Knew of kids whose parents left them with their grandparents so they could go to a wedding. Lots of other problems also happened. The maintenence worker at Tulsa who left his forklift for 5 minutes early to go to the bathroom ended up committing suicide when he realized that he helped cause the crash.

[@cassandratq9301]

100%

[@jamieelliott8021]

So from my knowledge being an licensed engineer, you have several types of check. Pilot walk round happens before every flight, main base checks (maybe other names also) happen once a day and are performed by engineers, a checks happen around every three months and take generally 1 or 2 days, b checks are not really done separately from the A checks. C checks are generally every two years and take up to a week to complete. Finally d checks are the most intensive maintenance that happens every 6-8 years and take around a month to complete. Of course it depends on aircraft type as to the actual intervals of each check. Again, it also depends on what is found during the checks as to how long the ground time is, as the older an aircraft, the more there is the check and also the bigger chance of things being broken and life expired. In my humble opinion, performing a complete C check on a 737 in 12 hours is not possible. A 747-8 A check is around 1.5 days ground time, and a C check is around one week ground time, but if you look at the older 747-400, A check ground time is around 2.5 days and C check ground time around 2.5 weeks.

[@neillenhart6838]

I was thinking that too, I’m a crew lead for maintenance and they said C check in 12 hours like that’s kinda unheard of lol

[@oahuhawaii2141]

It seems SWA is cutting corners in maintenance, or is using a different definition of a C Check.

[@gerrydepp8164]

There is one (IMO unforgivable) crucial test missing from that maintenance schedule: A Test Flight. You cannot be certain there are no unforeseen problems until the machine has performed that which it was designed to do - Fly - and land safely. In the pursuit of profit this has obviously been deemed too expensive but after major work you cannot be sure without a test drive (I know as I had a Motorcycle workshop for 30 years) and there have been recent crashes that would have happened without passengers if a test flight was done. Also if a member of the team was required to be present you can be damn sure nothing would be left to chance. Amazing machines yeah, but it still comes down to money - if it didnt crashes would be almost unheard of...

[@flaca2787]

I was thinking the same. If something in the aircraft damages, and they fix it and need to test it in the air , they should do a test -fly if you will around a designated area and airport

[@harrywagner3877]

If you are a civilian maintenance contractor working on submarines in US Navy you or one/some of your fellow workers gets to go on a check dive. Not as an elective - it's mandatory.

[@debbielwilliamson8546]

Absolutely. A test flight should be mandatory.

[@DR-kl3mn]

The shop took my car for a test drive when they replaced a break line, another line blew when they did. Could have been me getting into a car I think has working breaks only to have them blow out again if they hadn't tested them. And it's just 1 person that vehicle is responsible for generally...not dozens or even hundreds.

[@dualdragoncomics1611]

SwissAir 111 and TWA 800 are the nightmares I know I will never forget.

[@AmeliasMiMi]

Whew! After seeing the title of this episode then seeing Southwest airplane out of Phoenix, my heart sank and I just knew I was finished flying! I’m 49 and took my first flight at 47 to Phoenix on Southwest! ☺️ My son and I both got a 1st time flyer’s certificate. 🥰 What a relief to see this episode was not what I first thought it would be. I am so thankful that Southwest takes these maintenance schedules seriously when they perform them. Now when they get the issues resolved when severe weather rolls in to prevent massive cancellations from occurring, then I will look forward to my next flight with them. ☺️😉🤷🏻‍♀️

[@RowletGod69]

Same, I’m so glad this is a documentary and not southwest having a huge pekple loss accidental

[@katherineberger6329]

@@RowletGod69 There is a saying: "Every regulation is written in blood." This is why I despise politicians who promise to end "profit-killing regulations." Those regulations exist BECAUSE PEOPLE DIED.

[@waterbird91]

Visual inspection is NOT to be considered as an inspection. Planes are full of cracks, metal fatigue, Unforgivable.

[@johnlang3198]

I assuming you are referring to the Brasilia Hamilton standard propeller. Unfortunately that propeller has a bit of a history. It had several problems that had to be worked out.

[@johnlang3198]

I should have also stated, that as far as I know that propeller has been very good the last several decades.

[@parkerholden7140]

Two comments on this video. 1) In the area of linear actuators there is a major difference between ball screw actuators and thread or Acme Screw actuators and hydraulic actuators. Good maintenance starts with good engineering. 2) Maintenance is a stepchild profession. Good people look for other professions. Many products are sold on the basis of not needing much maintenance, Keeping things running safely is mainly a cultural problem

[@biometal770]

I used to work in maintenance, but chose the engineering profession because the compensation was better. Sadly, I did enjoy the work to a certain extent though.

[@vickichavez9956]

It’s good to know that airlines are finding and fixing problems and making flying safer

[@MrTrinomial]

sadly the road to innovation is paved in blood

[@jamesgentry13]

@@MrTrinomial thats in every industry. You don't learn if you don't have failures

[@marcleblanc3602]

WHAT? Not thee Airline but gov transportation safety investigators, in majority of cases, often Recommendations are not followed. This was not a fixing Problem.

[@markmckinney9821]

F22 crew chief here. This cant be more true. Maintenance and repair is LIFE or DEATH.

[@Ramdileo_sys]

02:28 .. Alaska Airlines Flight 261 09:00 .. Japan Airlines Flight 123 17:20 .. Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529 26:18 .. Swissair Flight 111 35:40 .. United Airlines Flight 585 39:10 .. USAir Flight 427 42:22 .. Eastwind Airlines Flight 517

[@ratboyiscool]

One of the best episodes imo

[@adjusted-bunny]

37:20 I didn't know that Tim Robbins had a side hustle as a plane accident investigator.

[@michaelmartinez1345]

Much of the end results of routine and non-routine maintenance being done on various types of aircraft, is highly dependent on who is doing the maintenance, where the maintenance was done, the availability of serviceable parts/supplies and tooling, and the security of the aircraft, after the maintenance was performed. One place that I worked at, had people taking parts from their planes , in the cover of darkness, which was not documented as to what was done to that aircraft, while that live aircraft was undergoing a routine service check, similar to what was described on this documentary of the SWA 737-700 @ PHX 'Sky Harbor' airport.... The quality needs to be assured, BEFORE the name goes on the paperwork...

[@stevebigansky9372]

I was living in El Segundo, a couple of miles south of LAX at the time of the accident and remember the mass of helicopters hovering over the ocean, wondering what was going on, then the sadness and frustration when everyone found out what happened and most importantly WHY - other case of corporate GREED as usual- I can't believe that Alaska Airlines is still operating-

[@acox3527]

Despite the crash with PSA flight 182 which probably put them under they really took care of their customers a lot of my family flew on PSA when I was real little

[@SiliconBong]

I hope you have a real cool twentytwentythree myfriend.

[@stephancox9105]

How old is this? Southwest Airlines doesn't do their own maintenance. They farm it out to a subcontractor in El Salvador, to keep costs (and thus fares) down.

[@joevignolor4u949]

And to keep share holder value and dividends up.

[@jakem7838]

They have outsourced their heavy maintenance from day one.

[@jonarmedpiandsecurityoffic9051]

Aircraft maintenance is fucking hard, the manuals jump all over the place, and the scrutiny of every small detail

[@Davidsavage8008]

Thanks to the military standards and testing. , the temperature differences never go unchecked again.... Great documentary....

[@adotintheshark4848]

Not only did the plane at Kitty Hawk have a lot fewer parts, they didn't have in-flight service either.

[@AngelGarcia-uk2ws]

The Swiss Air Crash and TWA 800 Crash are similar, that they crashed due to wiring issue.

[@andrewharton4633]

the most badass line to go out with,,, alaska airlines "here we go"...went out like real men💯. rip to all victims lost in these

[@nannettenielsen216]

That was heartbreaking to hear. They fought so hard to save everyone.

[@Tracy-nu3qe]

Yes, those Pilots fought with that "big girl[MD-83]," to the very last second.😢🙏

[@thamymahlangu12]

The reason why I watch these aircrash investigations is because of the voice of this guy explaining this documentary, wow

[@jtabal100]

These maintenance people are engineers . Planes are so complicated and intricate . These guys have such important jobs

[@craigwhitmour6347]

Greed and negligence. Very sad case

[@jetmec]

Just to point out a C check tales about three to four weeks a A check is an overnight check

[@robertstack2144]

Then too the FAA watched from the usptairs balcony while AA mechanics removed and replaced engine/pylon combos on DC-10s using a forklift, instead of removing the engine from pylon first then removing the pylon. Remember AA flight 191 in Chicago leaving an engine departing the wing, 277 dead, the FAA quick to point fingers, but never at themselves

[@MattnessLP]

Isn't there this concept called Theseus' Ship? When these airplanes a regularly disassembled, faulty parts replaced and then reassembled, at what stage is it stops being the same airplane that entered service many years ago, and instead is now the sum of new parts that have replaced the old ones over the years?

[@mariomarques4247]

An "A" check everytime the aircraft lands??? or a "C" check done overnight???? and "FAN BLADES" inspected with boroscope????

[@christopheklinger3217]

and a flashlight ?

[@willschultz5452]

Yes, whats the point?

[@jakem7838]

For real, total BS.

[@marka8947]

Yes. Fans and hot section turbine blades and wheels can be inspected with a borescope. I've done it legally hundreds of times per the maintenance manual.

[@LouisGedo]

I love this series

[@Juandinggong]

How lucky those people were to survive!

[@RickRoseIsAwesome]

Licenced aircraft mechanic here; There is a big disconnect between manufacturers of new and old technologies that makes it surprisingly difficult to learn how systems work. Struggling to learn- RR

[@rael5469]

A C-Check on an overnight visit?????? Not bloody likely. A C-Check is roughly equivalent to an annual inspection. That means all the inspection panels have to be removed.....the areas inspected for defects.......the repairs made.......all deferred items repaired and cleared...... and then everything closed up. THEN all the post maintenance operational checks. That ain't happening in one shift. That's ludicrous. With older airliners these checks can extend for weeks.

[@IMEMINE.]

45 lifted inspections for the RR Industry… and then… they fell off the track in a town near you. No less than 18 derailments in two years. The next commander and chief mandated that those inspections will be required immediately on his first day in charge. Since 2021 less than 3 incidents all have been minor and corrected.

[@libertarianman69]

How many accidents are the deadliest in aviation history? I hear that almost every episode. Just weird

[@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823]

You have deadliest ever: Tenerife Deadliest single: JAL123... Deadliest in US, 191, I think.

[@JupiterMan12.000]

A Special Mayday Episode

[@largol33t1]

Look no further than Japan Airlines flight 123. It was influenced by the lack of repairs to its tail. The tail sheared off, leading to loss of control. Over 512 people perished. It was for a long time one of the deadliest single plane crashes in history.

[@oahuhawaii2141]

The JAL123 accident was caused by the improper repair of the aircraft after an earlier accident, a tail strike. It remains as the largest fatality by a single-plane accident: 520 killed, including crash survivors who perished waiting many hours for rescue.

[@buck9739]

Capt Brian Bishop is a hero…

[@steveclapper5424]

Separate the two, if they need to save money the maintenance of the plane shouldn't be an option.

[@johnlang3198]

I've always wondered if deregulation, which I normally support, in the case of Aviation resulted an increase in cost-cutting.

[@lisanadinebaker5179]

@John Lang - I agree with your deduction. We saw the same behavior after many controls were removed from the banking system - leading to the 2008 recession

[@reflective-thinker7817]

Yes maintenance did an unforgivable mistake but nobody talked about the design flaw , 😮😮 how you design a very critical system without redundancies ???

[@WTCheatShaming]

You love how southwest does good maintenance but at 27:30 why does this dude not have a harness on?

[@sharoncassell9358]

A fellow mechanic almost walked off the T tail & I grabbed him by the belt pulling him back before he took another step. He took off the harness momentarily to install a tail motor & forgot he took off the harness. It's only a 54 foot drop to the ground and he would not be the first guy to walk off the tail.

[@nancylongworth9617]

Years ago, my firearms instructor told us, "Anything made by the hand if man will ultimately fail". That includes aircraft.

[@lethabrooks9112]

My Dad worked on F-14 Tomcats while he was in the Navy and when it comes to Military Fighter Jets they never cut corners! If Civil Aviation was as through and Companies didnt cut corners to save a few dollars some of these accidents would have never happened like AA Flight 191 in May of 1979.

[@scarlettg6136]

I find that Southwest Airlines seems to be the most open to the media, good and bad press coverage. I like that, and fly Southwest.

[@philiam0420]

A big part of Southwest's business model is fantastic customer service. I had to turn around a flight because the toilets stopped working, causing all the passengers to get to Hawaii a day late. The company refunded their flight, gave them vouchers, and gave them cash. I've had instances where I've had to turn around the flight and the company thought it was minor enough to just have a gate agent handle it. I get on the phone with them and tell them "no, you need to send out some actual representatives and make sure the passengers leave happy". And then they do that. If I don't like how the company is handling something, I tell them, and then they fix it. That's one of my favorite parts about the airline. No corners are cut, and if someone tries to cut a corner, you can just call them out on it and they'll correct it.

[@tztz1949]

I left united in 84' due to lack of real maintenance process or oversight. I don't fly airlines. I fly and maintain my own aircraft.

[@nannettenielsen216]

I can't even imagine the horror the pilots feel as they watch their plane fall into the ground after doing everything they can to try and save their plane and passengers.

[@maagu4779]

First place to check is not their maintenance records but their financials. That is something every passenger can do on their own using something called a newspaper.

[@JPF941]

never use the newspaper as a primary source for any investigation. They are as capable of failing the public trust as anyone.

[@jamesgentry13]

What does thst have to do with it? Even the biggest named airlines have been cutting corners in maintenance.

[@sandygrogg1203]

Greg Philips, and John Nance are the best. I always learn somethung from them/. ❤

[@hrmanager97]

Love John Nance's books

[@Tracy-nu3qe]

I think that you mean, Greg Feith, not Greg Phillips.🤔

[@muzzammilpervaiz5296]

Informative documentary

[@jimmorgan5612]

I don't think that there are many commercial pilots who WON'T tell you how leery they are when a plane has just come out of maintenance and they have the first flight.

[@Aircraft1606.]

2:29 #1 Alaska Airlines Flight 261 S01E05 - Cutting Corners 10:24 #2 Japan Air Lines Flight 123 S03E03 - Out of Control 17:25 #3 Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529 S02E02 - A Wounded Bird 27:37 #4 Swissair Flight 111 S01E03 - Fire on Board 35:56 #5 United Airlines Flight 585 39:16 #6 USAir Flight 427 42:22 #7 Eastwind Airlines Flight 517 S04E05 - Hidden Danger 47:07 the inspection on the Southwest Airlines 737 is complete

[@jchrg2336]

Leave it to the professionals... They have their own hierarchical structures in maintenance duties and engineering of this

[@Isaac-muntz]

*"Safety regulations are written in blood"* takes great loss of life for authorities to update the safety laws and procedures

[@drollette08]

I worked for an aerospace company that provides parts for Pratt and Whitney, RR, and GE. The company cuts so many corners that I could write a book with all of the company mis conduct

[@Raceb8420]

@39:45 that cowling is in remarkable condition for what it just went through!!

[@BigEightiesNewWave]

Alaska Airlines lack of grease, and maintenance killed my niece . I will NEVER fly that airline. BTW, those planes still fly as cargo planes, and have had ZERO jackscrew failures.

[@nikshmenga]

Exciting crash sequences OMG

[@MySpace662]

Components are supplied by various manufacturers that goes into building an aircraft, and most of these parts can fail anytime. Just like our automobiles today, aircrafts have sensors for every part that informs you what needs to be changed, It's not just poor maintenance that can bring a plane down.

[@772amanda237]

The duel servo valve also had micro particles of metal in the hydraulic fluid

[@fadingfrost2617]

I am forever stating how I believe all the 'problems of our world' leads back to someone somewhere cutting corners. Weither a person is a mechanic, a probation officer, a cps official, hotel clerk, court clerk, fast food drive-thru, a janitor, groundskeeper or a bar tender, or a realtor. What we each do has a ripel effect. Most of which we are blissfully unaware of. While many more of us couldn't care less about a riple effect they cause. From what I've experienced in the last 15 years, the halfass attitude has gradually evolved from a rare occurrence into the current norm. So many causes behind this, from the "me-too movement"/sense of entitlement skyrocketing to the absurd, to the lack of any loyalty or appreciation from employers as pay, perks, & benefits have severely plummeted & work loads/ expectations, & costs grow. Whatever the cause, we all must hold ourselves accountable for everything we do. Certainly when it is our duty, our responsibility- no matter the excuse. For the record, a pissy attitude isnt an excuse for anything.

[@mikethompson3534]

In the airline industry most management personnel have no clue on aircraft maintenance and all they care is whether the aircraft is ready or not as they have no comprehension whatsoever of the extreme critical nature of certain repairs and puts the pressure on the technician if the aircraft is not ready and sometimes overrides the technician and signs off the repairs whether done correctly or not but does not show up as a disaster months or years later as top managers could care less as long as the aircraft flies I have seen this my entire 38 years working at a major airline(MANAGEMENT are Hypocrites)

[@Dumbrarere]

There was an instance where Southwest filed a lawsuit against their entire mechanics union for keeping planes out of the air when those same planes were still undergoing inspection. I'm not sure how that lawsuit ended or if the litigation is still ongoing.

[@donoharm510]

That sucks to hear, tho it's unfortunately not surprising. However, I do expect better.

[@normanappleton3627]

Even when they are maintained "above and beyond" the minimum standard, accidents can still occur. I know this from personal experience where a component failed at just 25% of it's scheduled "life".

[@pullt]

You don't have a 737 taking off or landing every two seconds, 24/7, by keeping them on the ground....

[@jacobkummer6384]

The way the narrator says unscheduled gives me chest pain

[@Emm325]

For me it’s the aluminum 😂

[@michaelhuebner6843]

He is British and that is how Britens pronounce that word.

[@BigEightiesNewWave]

Never fly an airline whose motto is "we cut corners"😥

[@jayrandolph9328]

Ya know, the NTSB never explained how the 737 was working well for decades without suffering this rudder issue...and the only conditions it needs to happen is basically just extreme temps?!? How have those conditions not been met to produce this malfunction hundreds of times over???

[@johnstuartsmith]

At the time the rudder power control units caused the 2 crashes, there were about 3,000 737s in service. It was an extremely rare combination of variations in wear patterns, hydraulic fluid conditions and temperature differentials between fluid temperature and control unit temperature that could result in rudder reversal. 99.999999 % of the time, the control units performed as designed and expected. It took years for it to happen, but given enough time, anything that can go wrong, will, and it finally did.

[@donovandelaney3171]

Boeing Airlines is now the main airline company and owns all of the other airline companies.

[@gtptube]

This episode is all over the place. SWA 737... Alaska Super 80... JAL 747... ASA Brasilia... How TF are we supposed to stay in topic!?

[@SciHeartJourney]

I learned a lot from the Air Force. Every plane had an OWNER, the Crew Chief. He might only have the rank of an A1C, but not even a full bird colonel could FORCE him to sign off on a RED X. It is AGAINST MILITARY LAW to fly an airplane with a RED X. That's the kind of power that Civilian air crew Chiefs should be given over these big airplanes. They need to be protected so that WE'RE all protected.

[@flyifri]

Every mechanic has a duty to intervene and speak up when in any doubt of oversight.! This may mean you going above and beyond outside the box.!

[@smileyeagle1021]

So, what I'm getting from the section on the 737 rudder problems is that Boeing has a lot longer history of releasing fatally flawed planes than just the Max.

[@ahndeux]

You may want to look up the history of Airbus also. All airplanes have their growing pains. The 737 has gone through multiple generations that span back to 1965. That is 58 years of history. When you have airplanes that span that length of time, there will be flaws. The key takeaway is the flaws were found and fixed. The rudder problem is one of those situations where its an intermittent problem caused by thermal shock. Typically, these type of problems are the hardest to find since the signatures come and goes. Its good that they discovered the problem and fixed it.

[@Scorpioncactusflower]

McDonnell-Douglas. Damn near every DC-# plane had an issue. Or, even better, look up the de Havilland Comet. They had a nasty habit of disintegrating in-flight. Boeing just seems to put out MORE flawed aircraft due to the fact that they're the ones putting out the most aircraft. (But the MAX doesn't have issues, darling. It has SUBSCRIBTIONS. It's like Boeing's 'Mid-Life Crisis Creation.' It needs to get GONE.)

[@aaronchandler2380]

Not doing maintenance AND excepting pilots to fly it like that happens often.

[@blacknight88]

I was on that flight ✈️ but I'm glad I survived that crash. I spent some time in the hospital after i was rescued from the water 💧

[@tonnitoedwards]

There are many flights discussed here, which one exactly?

[@markmckinney9821]

The swiss air crash is sad and you can tekl by how quickly they made changes that swiss air is a great company