Caught a hairline crack on a landing gear trunnion during a routine C-check - caught it just in time

Was doing a thorough inspection on a 737-800 last Thursday at our hangar in Phoenix. Everything looked normal until I ran a dye penetrant test on the trunnion support fitting. Found a crack that was maybe 1.5 inches long running along a bolt hole. My lead said if that had gone unnoticed for another 100 flight hours it could've caused some serious issues on landing. Has anyone else found hidden cracks in places that aren't even on the standard inspection checklist?

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jasons631mo ago

Had a buddy up in Seattle who found a stress crack in a flap track carriage on a 757 during a night shift. He said it was maybe 3 inches long and hidden under a layer of sealant they didn't normally pull back. That crack wasn't on any routine checklist either, just one of those things you notice when you're being extra thorough. He showed me the photos later and I couldn't believe how clean the break was, like it was waiting to let go. Took a lot of convincing with management to get it flagged as something to watch for, but they updated their procedures after that.