Some people should be shot

On April 30, an Offutt Air Force RC-135V pilot aborted takeoff when told of a fire in the galley area. Facts found in an investigation show some civilians should be shot.

“Parting lines and rough surfaces are both typical of a casting, whereas a machined or forged part is required by the specifications … The 4/5/6 fitting also showed uneven wear patterns, nicks, gouges, and large areas of exposed metal which would also be cause for rejection of the fitting ... AFRL/RXSA determined that fittings similar to the 4/5/6 fitting were last manufactured in 2003 ...”

The board president said cause of the fire “was the failure of depot maintenance personnel to assemble the oxygen system properly, specifically the high-pressure oxygen hose connection above the galley of the MA.” He does not address the age of the fittings or the apparent non-standard casting.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2298495/rc-135-offutt-afb-full-report.pdf

Is it inaccurate to think maintenance workers installing old parts know they are breaking rules of extreme importance? So, if L3 Communications procedure was/is using old parts, not only are supervisors at fault, but also the wrench turners. L3, in Greenville, Texas, performs almost all maintenance and avionics work on RC-135s.

The Aviationist magazine concludes: “The final report noted that L-3’s quality control failed to follow established procedures, and that L-3 installed used instead of new parts. Fleet-wide inspections are underway.”

http://theaviationist.com/2015/08/26/rc-135-take-off-aborted-offutt/

As long as we continue our forever wars, this kind of thing will happen, unless contractors and contract maintenance personnel are held to standards.