MECHANIC REALIZED THE MANUFACTURER'S SLIDE/RAFT COMPONENT MAINTENANCE MANUAL THEY HAD BEEN FOLLOWING TO PRESSURE TEST AND CHECK THEIR B777 RAFT BOTTLE HOSES AT 900 POUNDS; SHOULD HAVE BEEN ACTUALLY TESTED AT 4000 LBS.

Date: 2008-11 · Aircraft: B777-200 · Phase: ground

Anomalies: aircraft-equipment-problem-critical|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-published-material-policy|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-maintenance|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-far

Synopsis

MECHANIC REALIZED THE MANUFACTURER'S SLIDE/RAFT COMPONENT MAINTENANCE MANUAL THEY HAD BEEN FOLLOWING TO PRESSURE TEST AND CHECK THEIR B777 RAFT BOTTLE HOSES AT 900 POUNDS; SHOULD HAVE BEEN ACTUALLY TESTED AT 4000 LBS.

Narrative

ERROR OCCURRED WHEN SHOP ORDER SHOWED A SPECIFIC ENGINEERING ORDER AND WHEN I LOOKED IT UP IT SHOWED A CERTAIN TEST PRESSURE TO WHICH TESTING HOSES. TURNED OVER TO LEAD MECHANIC TO LOOK UP PROPER DOCUMENTATION. I PRESSURE CHECKED HOSES TO WRONG SPECS.CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: REPORTER STATED EVEN THOUGH HE HAD ALREADY TESTED APPROXIMATELY 15 B777 SLIDE RAFTS USING THE MANUFACTURER'S COMPONENT MAINTENANCE MANUAL (CMM) SPECIFICATIONS OF 900 POUNDS TEST PRESSURE ON THE HOSES FROM THE RAFT BOTTLE TO THE INFLATION ASPIRATOR; HE JUST FELT THE TEST PRESSURE CHECK WAS TOO LOW FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE HOSE. REPORTER STATED HE DECIDED TO RESEARCH FURTHER AND DISCOVERED THE MANUFACTURER'S CMM WAS INCORRECT. THE TEST PRESSURE REQUIRED WAS ACTUALLY SUPPOSED TO BE 4000 POUNDS. THIS WOULD DETERMINE IF THE HOSE COULD HANDLE THE INITIAL BURST TEST AND STILL BE CONSIDERED SERVICEABLE FOR CONTINUED USE. THIS TEST IS ACCOMPLISHED ON THESE SLIDES EVERY 12 TO 15 YEARS. THE SLIDE RAFT MANUFACTURER IS WORKING CLOSELY WITH HIS CARRIER AND BETTER DIAGRAMS AND CORRECT TEST PRESSURES HAVE BEEN INCORPORATED IN THE CMM'S.

More incidents for this aircraft family →

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.