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Pro tip: a 3 inch piece of safety wire almost cost me a static leak sign-off in Tulsa
Two weeks ago I was doing a pitot static leak check on a King Air at our shop in Tulsa and the tester would not hold pressure for anything. I chased it for an hour, swore it was the ADI fitting, swapped o-rings twice, and still watched the needle bleed off. Turned out a 3 inch scrap of safety wire was poking the static line behind the panel, left there by whoever did the last install. I yanked it, re-ran the check, and it held like a rock. My lead said 'you get one of those a career,' and I told him I would rather not get any. Now I run my fingers down every line I can reach before I even hook up the tester. I get that people hate slowing down on a sign-off, but hiding a leak behind a squawk just means the next guy eats it. Anyone else find junk left behind by a previous install that had you chasing your tail for way too long?
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harper_smith6d ago
Would you really want to slow every sign off down though? We'd never get planes out the door if everyone spent an extra hour feeling around behind panels. Sounds like you got unlucky, and yeah it stinks for the next guy, but a scrap of safety wire is a fluke, not something you can inspect your way out of every time.
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