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Boeing, Team Fairchild to ensure aircraft safety

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Joshua K. Chapman
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  On Jan. 13, the 141st Air Refueling Wing here held a 10-year remembrance ceremony for four of their fallen Airmen, marking the anniversary of a tragic KC-135 Stratotanker crash at Geilenkirchen Air Base, Germany, on Jan. 13, 1999. Now, the 141st ARW shares the responsibility as one of only three Air Force units helping to prevent future tragedies from occurring.

In response to that tragic incident, Air Force Material Command is retrofitting all KC-135 aircraft with a control column actuator brake.

"Given this history, it's truly an honor for our team to take part in this modification," said Maj. Deirdre Catlin, 141st ARW CCAB project officer. "We're proud to be part of the modification that will ensure that future KC-135 aircrews remain safe in the air."

As a team, both Boeing contractors and the Air National Guard's CCAB team are working together to equip each plane with a stabilizer trim mechanical brake, which should help mitigate risks involved in a runway trim situation, such as the consequence of the 1999 tragedy in Germany - a result in which an aircraft nose is either too high or too low for flight altitude.

The process is as follows: The Guard team 'catches' the inbound planes and preps them for modification; the Boeing team breaks down the control column of each jet and installs the brake; and finally, the Guard team 're-rigs' the aircraft and accomplishes the final check flight, or the 'acceptance flight,' and launches the aircraft back out to its respective unit.

Chief Master Sgt. Robert Nebergall, 141st ARW CCAB flight chief, credits the project's apparent success at Fairchild to the persistence of the 15 141st ARW CCAB project Airmen, as well as the relentless dedication from the 14 members of the Boeing Field Team involved in installing the CCAB. "The crew chiefs and the [Boeing Field Team] care a great deal about what they're doing. In some ways the CCAB project is a direct tribute to the work ethic that they bring to the table every day."

So far there are many benefits of doing the project alongside an active-duty refueling unit, the 92nd Air Refueling Wing. Currently, the 141st uses two active-duty hangars for the project, one of which provides the home for the Boeing contact field team, stated the major.

"Because we are co-located with an active-duty [KC-135 unit], Fairchild has a unique situation which directly contributes to our success," the major said.

The partnership between the 141st and 92nd ARWs allows the two units to share hangar space, providing two major benefits by preventing potential aircraft delivery delays and adding extra protection against inclement weather, saving large costs associated with de-icing aircraft prior to the final flight check.

Another major benefit of being co-located with a tanker wing is the ability to dually maintain the aircraft during the modification, Chief Nebergall said. "While the 141st Maintenance Squadron back shops do a large number of modifications on the 92nd ARW aircraft, the 92nd MXS is often able to step in when needed to perform additional maintenance."

"If a maintenance problem arises, we're able to contact our active-duty counterparts to advise them of the problem, allowing the 92nd Maintenance Squadron to occasionally step in when needed," the chief said.

It has also served the war fighter's flying community that depends on project's timeliness. As the project enters its final months of the three-year project, the CCAB modification team has achieved an exceptional record in fleet turnovers, a cumulative 450 days ahead of schedule.

"Two hundred and seven of those days which went directly back to Fairchild," said Major Catlin.

So far the Boeing contractors and 141st Airmen have 4.6 averaged days of saved turnaround time. "Being able to get the aircraft back to the war-fighter in a timely manner is absolutely critical for us, especially due to the fact that these planes are needed downrange," Chief Nebergall explained.

By Sept. 29, all KC-135 modifications are scheduled to be complete.