Update: I've seen three different techs in our hangar skip the final torque check on D-sub connector backshells this month.

I found a loose pin on a 737's VHF comm antenna feed line during a routine inspection yesterday because the backshell wasn't properly secured, so please always follow the manual's torque sequence to the letter. Has anyone else caught a similar fault recently?

3 comments

3 Comments

nora_bennett721mo ago

That bit about the loose pin on the VHF feed line really hits home. It's never just a loose connector, it's the start of a chain that can take a whole system down. I've found corrosion starting in those gaps when the backshell isn't tight, and then you're looking at a full cable replacement instead of a simple torque check. It makes you wonder how many intermittent faults in the logbook trace right back to a skipped final step like that.

the_eric1mo ago

So many problems come from skipping the last step.

williams9023d ago

That "chain that can take a whole system down" seems a bit dramatic for a loose backshell.