September-October 2022 - 14

COVER STORY
One tip to avoiding damage caused by
ground support equipment is to customize
equipment to eliminate potential hazards.
NATA
WESTERN JET AVIATION
* Aircraft coming into contact with an
immovable object, including buildings,
light posts, etc., is 15%
" [The areas most at risk for damage] for
the business aviation sector are: wingtips/
leading edges, such as low wings and swept
wings, ailerons, nose cones and nose gear, "
Yeomans continued.
" [And] the empennage and trailing
edges of lift surfaces, " added Popovich.
" The tail of the aircraft holds many servicing
points which requires the most
attention. This area is active during
ground servicing and can, at times, have
more than several pieces of GSE staged or
connected to the aircraft simultaneously.
During tow operations, the aircraft may
need to be pushed into a position or into
a hangar. These hangar operations are
the leading cause of aircraft damage and
although not isolated to the trailing edge
of control surfaces or empennage, see
much of the damage due to the nature of
the movement. "
Western Jet Aviation works predominately
on large cabin Gulfstreams, and
Mann detailed where they are often seeing
ground damage occur:
" The wing tips, tails, as far as towing,
and in general, wing trailing edges are really
prone to seeing some ground damage
because you're loading and unloading baggage
behind the wing. You're doing maintenance
on engines, so you have engine
14 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022
Damage and Costs
Damage to an aircraft can be costly and
must be considered prior to any flight
operation, said Popovich.
" Some damage is obvious, and the flight
crew will shut down the operation. Other
damage may not be obvious to the eye
and may require an inspection. Due to
the nature of flight, the stresses placed
upon the aircraft during the flight, and the
uncertainty of the damage that may have
occurred, some flight crews will request
a maintenance inspection to eliminate
the possibility of internal component or
structural damage, " he said.
Most aircraft damage is known immediately
as the aircraft itself has made contact
with an object or an object has made
contact with the aircraft. A common term
used amongst aircraft service providers
is " bent metal " , i.e. an aircraft has been
damaged and " we bent metal. " Although
this is the most common indication of
aircraft damage, damage is not limited
to bending metal.
" Towing operations are one of the leading
causes of aircraft damage. During tow
operations some aircraft are limited with
the angle at which the nose gear can be
turned. Several aircraft manufacturers
stands and things behind the wing. So
those are the areas that tend to see dings
more often than other areas, " he said.
have installed towing limiters or oversteer
indicators. Although most of these limiters
or oversteer indicators are in view of the
tow operator, some are not. Some indicators
must be inspected prior to flight while
others illuminate an oversteer indicator in
the cockpit, " Popovich continued.
Mann said that it is not uncommon,
especially with older aircraft, to see more
wear and tear.
" It's not uncommon to see a little scrape
or something on a flat trail, a wing trailing
edge. Other times, it's a minor ding that
requires a local repair. Especially as the
aircraft get older, it's not uncommon to see
little wear and tear in that area, " he said.
But knowing when a scrape is more than
meets the eye is key, Mann said.
" For the most part, a scrape is really just
a scrape. It's just superficial. Maybe it is
just for the paint, that kind of thing. And
then there's damage limits. So, the maintenance
manual and the aircraft structural
repair manual have damage classifications.
So, any kind of obvious dent or tear
or any real physical damage is definitely
going to affect airworthiness and it's going
to require an immediate repair, " he said.
And on top of that, even knowing that
the aircraft has been damaged can be
tricky. It's not unheard of for an aircraft
to receive damage at one location and
for it not to be noticed until it's arrived
at another.
AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY
September-October 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September-October 2022
