Inspection Detail

Inspection: 110096468 - Grumman St. Augustine Corporation

Inspection Information - Office: Jacksonville Area Office

Investigation Summary

On September 7, 1996, Employee #1 was assigned to a seven-man guiding team that was moving a Navy aircraft out of a building. The guiding team consisted of a director, who was positioned in front of the aircraft; a tug driver, also positioned in front of their aircraft; a right and left wing walker, positioned at each folded wing of the aircraft; a right and left chock walker, positioned behind each aircraft wing; and a tail walker, positioned by the aircraft's tail. Employee #1 was the left wing walker and Employee #2 was the left chock walker. The team's assignment was to move the aircraft without hitting anything. The aircraft was being overhauled and the employer had substituted the main landing gear of the aircraft with the modified landing gear of another lightweight aircraft. Its landing gear was smaller and had to be modified to fit it. There were no engineering drawings of the modifications, no strength tests had been done, and no instructions had been prepared on how to install the equipment. The team was positioned around the aircraft as it was pulled over a 3 1/2 in. high wooden ramp that was covering air and electrical lines. As the left main wheel started over the ramp, a loud popping sound was heard. The left landing gear had failed, causing the aircraft to fall. Employee #1 was crushed and killed between the folded wing hinge assembly and an alignment fixture in the building. Employee #2 sustained a fractured leg when he was struck by the drag brace. The landing gear was missing a support bushing and it had not been installed or modified correctly.

Keywords: AIRCRAFT, WORK RULES, EQUIPMENT FAILURE, CRUSHED, STRUCK BY, FALLING OBJECT