KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss -- Persistence paid off for four 403rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Airmen who diagnosed and fixed a nagging cabin pressure problem affecting aircrews flying the unit's WC- and C-130J aircraft.
Aircrews were experiencing discomfort and ear popping when flying below 4,000 feet, said crew chief Master Sgt. James Rails. The problem surfaced in the summer of 2014. Many of the normal diagnostic tests were not yielding results, so the maintainers decided to dig a little deeper.
Nearly 500 manhours later, (about three weeks) Rails and Tech Sgts. Fernando Betancourt, Vincent Hawkins and Michael Stansbury, isolated the problem to debris trapped between check valves. According to Stansbury, debris from one check valve would flow with the air currents down the quarter-inch tubing to the next check valve or T-valve, clogging the tubing at those points.
Betancourt said there were a lot of panels and ductwork to remove in order to get to the tubing so they could send a boroscope down them to try and locate the debris. The boroscope has a camera at the tip that allows them to look inside the tubes.
Rials said that replacing the older check valves with newer ones would resolve the debris issue.
Col. Frank Amodeo, 403rd Wing commander, praised the maintainers for their ingenuity and dedication in tracking down and solving the problem.
"I'm proud of all our Airmen, and especially these four for the initiative they took to go above and beyond the call of duty," said Amodeo. "They serve as a great example of 'excellence in all we do.'"