Comair Mech. gets arm cut off

[$$$4nothin]

July 2nd around 2030 I pulled into the gate in JFK to lots of fire trucks, ambulances, lights, sirens etc at a gate next to us. When we asked some people what was up we were told a Comair mechanic was filling up a tire when it exploded and cut his arm off through the bone and was hanging buy a little skin. Also told he was only 19 and 2 weeks out of Mech. school. Does any know this guys and any details about his situation. As we know word of mouth is often exagerated. Hope he has a speedy recovery.

 

[wrxpilot]

July 2nd around 2030 I pulled into the gate in JFK to lots of fire trucks, ambulances, lights, sirens etc at a gate next to us. When we asked some people what was up we were told a Comair mechanic was filling up a tire when it exploded and cut his arm off through the bone and was hanging buy a little skin. Also told he was only 19 and 2 weeks out of Mech. school. Does any know this guys and any details about his situation. As we know word of mouth is often exagerated. Hope he has a speedy recovery.

Sorry to hear that. I always get nervous when we have to get some N2 put into our little citation tires... Damn things are pressurized to 135 pisg, which is an unbelievable amount of potential energy. A typical car tire is only about 35 psig. I stay away when the mech comes by with the N2 bottle!

 

[LR60BOY]

Sorry to hear that. I always get nervous when we have to get some N2 put into our little citation tires... Damn things are pressurized to 135 pisg, which is an unbelievable amount of potential energy. A typical car tire is only about 35 psig. I stay away when the mech comes by with the N2 bottle!

Think about a Lear 60. 210 psi for the mains, +/- 5 if I recall.

 

[samballs]

July 2nd around 2030 I pulled into the gate in JFK to lots of fire trucks, ambulances, lights, sirens etc at a gate next to us. When we asked some people what was up we were told a Comair mechanic was filling up a tire when it exploded and cut his arm off through the bone and was hanging buy a little skin. Also told he was only 19 and 2 weeks out of Mech. school. Does any know this guys and any details about his situation. As we know word of mouth is often exagerated. Hope he has a speedy recovery.

I'm on a overnight in JFK, some of our tdy mech are at the hotel. Thought they said he was here from MCO (you may be right I didn't here that for sure). He lost the arm plus 3 fingers on the other hand. I know emotions are involved but when asked how he was doing, the said he's alive right now, and thats all we can ask for.

 

[flyboyzii]

That is horrible news.

 

[Stifler's Mom]

Sorry to hear about this.

 

[JettBoii]

Wow. That is terrible. That is a ton of energy. Very sorry to hear.

 

[cjdriver]

We air our tires ourselves where I work (which right now means I do it). I also have to fill the O2. This has been done by the flight crew for decades at this company though, so I'm fairly comfortable with the procedure as it is. You never know though when a tire is about to give it up on you.

 

[samballs]

Okay story is, he was a mech asst. in MCO. Came to JFK after getting his A&P and on that 2nd day the tire blew

 

[Flyprdu]

This is a devastating story.

 

[agonyairfo]

I talked briefly with a mechanic today and he said that they have re-attached the guy's arm and it is circulating blood again. But they were not sure if it would work long term.

Also, he concurred that the guy was very young and new and then proceeded to say that management won't pay for experience so this is what happens. This part may be specualtion, but it sounds like he was rushed and working alone in JFK of all places.

I would love to see some heads roll over this.

 

[DX Rick]

I talked briefly with a mechanic today and he said that they have re-attached the guy's arm and it is circulating blood again. But they were not sure if it would work long term.

Also, he concurred that the guy was very young and new and then proceeded to say that management won't pay for experience so this is what happens. This part may be specualtion, but it sounds like he was rushed and working alone in JFK of all places.

I would love to see some heads roll over this.

Good to hear they have re-attached the arm. Hope he fully recovers.

Maybe FOX news should be sent a link to this, or if there is a media outlet who has already covered it.
Fox was going ape doo-doo after they found out the airlines have mechanics who can't speak or read English.

 

[Jamis81]

I do maintenance on F-16's with the Air Guard.. this guy is the exact reason why when we service the tires to 310psi we stay away from the actual wheel assembly.. we have to be as far back as the hose will allow, in the line of travel of the wheel, we'd only be hit by the rubber if the tire let loose.. My prayers are with this Mechanic and his family... hopefully everyone can learn a lesson from his tragedy

 

[JustaNumber]

Can any Mx types tell us if an explosion of this type is (or might be) a result of manufacturer error, original installation error, servicing error, or simply an unpredictable material defect? I'm not looking for blame, but rather for whether this was preventable. Thanks, and good luck to the unfortunate mechanic.

 

[buscap]

Word I got is, they weren't using a regulator. Straight tank air=bomb.

 

[JustaNumber]

Word I got is, they weren't using a regulator. Straight tank air=bomb.

And how could this happen? Are regulators always attached to the tanks, or do mechanics have to remember to add one? Are there specific procedures to follow? One would think that for something that critical, an inflation fitting/hose would be designed to only fit on a regulator, or some similar setup. It just seems like a failure of the system.

 

[Amish RakeFight]

Sounds horrible. I hope this poor 19 yr old sues. He just might be on disability for the remainder of his life.

 

[Hovernut]

Word I got is, they weren't using a regulator. Straight tank air=bomb.

That was my 1st suspicion. Most any time we had a high-pressure incident in the Navy with N2 bottles or HP Air on the sub, it was because someone tried to throttle with the tank isolation valve instead of using a regulator. I hope that wasn't the case here, but we'll find out when the NTSB report is released.

 

[buscap]

And how could this happen? Are regulators always attached to the tanks, or do mechanics have to remember to add one? Are there specific procedures to follow? One would think that for something that critical, an inflation fitting/hose would be designed to only fit on a regulator, or some similar setup. It just seems like a failure of the system.

Well, all accidents are a system failure by some definitions. After all, the safest aircraft are shrink wrapped and parked in the hangar. Of course the shrink-wrapping is done by robot-built robots, so nobody gets burned by the heat gun.

There's a good chance this guy was taught better and supplied with the proper tools. Odds are he was taking a shortcut; a shortcut he had taken before and gotten away with.

Now, if taught wrong, not properly supplied or maybe forced to take the shortcut; then there is a problem at the system level. As far as the fittings being designed in order to not allow the regulator exclusion, that is something OSHA would have to require, before anyone would invest the money. This sort of accident happens so often, I'm sure it's already been hashed out in courts.

BTW, I could be way off about the regulator thing, but it is what i heard from a sister company mech who had been briefed in an accident-prevention context.

 

[Seaknight1]

This is exactly why you don't stand/kneel in front of the rim while servicing aircraft tires. You stay off to the side and as far back as possible so as not to get hit by the rim if it explodes. That's the first thing they taught us in the Navy when we learned to R & R tires and how to service them. I guess our mx department just learned a lesson which had to be learned the hardway by this horrible accident.