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Documentation Supplied to FAA
 
  Beginning in February 2001, I turned over to the FAA about 10 pounds of documents, including:
  • Improper Signoffs of Deferrals: One example is aircraft 7791, a Boeing 727 flying into Chicago, that was sounding its altitude alert warning 1000 feet early forcing pilots to set the altitude 1000 feet higher. It was unable to be repaired in Chicago and was deferred. The repair was shown as accomplished at BFG AEROSPACE, and signed off on 3/8/99 by an unlicensed secretary.
  • Improper Signoffs of Flight Controls: Of note is a rudder rig (adjustment) on aircraft 7180, a Boeing 727, shown as accomplished by TIMCO on 12/26/00 and signed off by an unlicensed secretary.
  • Improper Signoffs of Autopilots: On 4/8/99, aircraft 7793, a 727, had an autopilot that was making the plane move up and down in flight, a condition known as "porpoising." Its Pitch Channel was reported as replaced at BFG AEROSPACE and signed off by an unlicensed secretary.
  • Signoffs of Aircraft Wash and Seals: A secretary was signing off wash and seal accomplishments for aircraft throughout the country from the office in San Francisco. This is also a very critical responsibility as all of the aircraft external openings, including air data sensors, are covered with tape prior to washing. The tape absolutely must be removed afterward. Failure to remove this tape led to the crash of an AeroPeru Boeing 757 in October 1996 and the conviction of the mechanic responsible.
  • A complete UAL internal documents package showing that its entire fleet of twenty-four 727 aircraft had been operating in 2000 with bogus engine generator breakers. The contract vendor, Timco, in North Carolina had installed these.
  • "Change Order Authorization 735720" - a directive written by UAL engineering to change all Boeing 727 engine generator breakers after TIMCO had supposedly overhauled the entire fleet of 24 aircraft. This directive resulted when, in the summer of 2000, United Bench Shop 151 discovered that the breakers, of which there are seven on each plane, had not been overhauled but instead had only been cleaned and repainted.

    These breakers are a critical hard-timed component that transfers electrical power from the aircraft engines to the 727's electrical buses. The internal parts are known to eventually breakdown and short out if not replaced by scheduled overhaul. This causes an immediate and potentially deadly flash fire along with the loss of electrical power from the affected engine.

When I turned these records over to the FAA, their inspectors told me that they would ask United to provide the handwritten job cards from the licensed mechanics for the work being improperly signed off in AMIS. They later told me that there were numerous instances in which United could not come up with any written paperwork. Not only does this violate numerous Federal Aviation Regulations (FARS), but the fact that there was no "audit trail" to a licensed mechanic would indicate that the work had not been done. This practice is known in the industry as "pencil-whipping," which is the signing off of work before completion. Examples of such incomplete workmanship are detailed in the Forbes article.
 
Last update Saturday, February 1, 2003. Copyright © 2003 Jeremy Cooperstock. All Rights Reserved.