|
On
August 15, 1998 at about 9:55 a Piper PA-18-150 experienced an in-flight structural failure of the left wing and crashed. The commercial pilot, the only person on the plane luckily escaped with minor injuries, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The National Transportation Safety Board's
(NTSB) investigation revealed the left-wing forward lift strut had separated from the wing in flight.
Metallurgical analysis reveled that the separation was precipitated by corrosion of the lift strut's forward attach fitting. The corrosion originated on the front face of the fitting, near its connection to the forward lift strut, in an area concealed by the leading edge of the wing. A cross-section of the fitting revealed that corrosion had completely penetrated it.
Corrosion problems have affected the airline industry for many years. The complexity of aircraft materials and design along with the exposure to many different types of climates and chemicals and the aging aircraft fleet leads to the importance of aircraft maintenance.
Today's fleet manager or aircraft maintenance personal require rigorous training to detect corrosion at the onset or early. They also require proper tools and materials to get the job done such as Salt-Gone™.
Salt-Gone™ not only removes salt and chlorides but residues from exhaust and de-icing fluids.
|
