PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Bristow S76 down in Lagos discussion (Not condolences)
Old 23rd Sep 2015, 19:46
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HeliComparator
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Aberdeen
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Originally Posted by Dave B
The rod ends cannot rotate, so are they saying that if the nut is not tight, then chattering is enough to pull the rod apart.
I'm sure that if we could see the actual parts, it would be obvious whether the threads had pulled out or not.

I took my Subaru in to a dealer for a 4-wheel alignment. 3 months and about 2000 miles later it was due an MOT, I gave it a quick check-over including jacking it up. I noticed detectable play in one of the front wheels. Transpired the jam nut on the track rod was backed off a couple of turns. Clearly it had never been tightened. The threads had worn sufficiently for detectable play caused mostly by a slight buckling effect even though there was lots of mating thread length.

So with that in mind I can believe that the accident helicopter's rod end could have worn and pulled out. Perhaps less force than a car's steering, but a much more rapid cycling of that force.
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