Missing Procedure Costs US Air Force $6,754,275

All that was missing was a simple set of instructions alerting the mechanics to remove the landing gear pins before clearing the aircraft for use. That’s all it would have taken for the US Air Force to avoid a $6,754,275 content snafu.

The expensive accident happened October 20, 2005 at Hill Air Force Base in Salt Lake City when repairs being made to F-22 Raptor fighter jet failed to go as planned. Although mechanics followed the correct procedures to insert the landing gear pins (devices used to stabalize the aircraft and prevent it from moving while being repaired) there were no instructions to remind the mechanics to remove pins prior to returning the aircraft to service.

According to an article in the Salt Lake City Tribune, an airman noticed the landing pin was still installed and signaled a crew member to shut down the left engine so he could remove it. Although the airman removed the pin successfully, a streamer attached to it got caught in the jet intake of the Raptor’s right engine, “ripping the pin from his hand and sucking it into the engine.” According to Tribune, witnesses “heard a crunch and a winding down sound” and others “saw sparks coming from the engine.”

While a content management system might not have prevented this accident from occurng, it does demonstrate the importance of acknowledging content as an asset, worthy of being effectively managed. This example illustrates that failing to include a simple reminder procedure (make sure to remove the pin prior to returning aircraft to service) could have helped avoid a multi-million dollar content problem.

Thanks to Bill Albing for pointing us to this content snafu!

Filed under: Content Management : Mishaps and Mistakes : Technical Writing : Mishaps and Mistakes