Rotornut, that TSB accident is a very good example of 4 people missing a basic item, and it leading to a fatal accident. Why I especially applaude this report, is that it always mentions the 4 people involved that could have prevented the situation from getting worse.
Usually, if a pilot a causal factor we get: Awww pilot error accident. Poor fellah. Lets learn from this and train better for it.
Or, if a mechanic is a causal factor we get: Holy
you idiot. Hang him he's costing me money!!!
Always amazes me that after 10,000 hours training a licenced mechanic, they don't get any recurring training through their careers, unless they are lucky enough to get a type course.
Would be nice if companies invested the same amount of time and effort into keeping their mechanics proficient as they spend on their pilots.
Unfortunately while the number of maintenance induced accidents stays as low as it is, this probably won't happen.
Companies only see a mchine on the ground as losing money. They don't see that a good mechanic could halve the amount of time it spends on the ground, thereby improving profit.
Back to this accident. It took me a wee while to see the difference in the drawing. Haven't worked on Robbies before. LAE should have inspected that rear coupling. As an LAE, I sure would have. They also should have queried Robinson about replacing a -1 driveshaft with a -3. If the part numbers don't match, and it isn't in the parts book, warning bells should start ringing!!!
Apologies for the long post. Accidents, and preventing them, get me wound up!!!!
