DAE see people skip the final torque check on wheel bolts?

I watched a guy at my old MRO in Phoenix just slap the last socket on and call it good, no wrench. That's how you get a loose wheel on rollout. What's the most skipped step you see?

3 comments

3 Comments

barbaraschmidt27d ago

and honestly gray_nelson, that's the thing about skipped steps - they usually don't bite you until the worst possible moment. i've absolutely been that guy who's like "eh, close enough" and walked away, and i hate past me for it. the one time i actually did see a wheel come loose was on a Cessna 172, and i felt sick watching the pilot taxi back with the lug holes all wallowed out. skipped torque check, someone else's problem. i'm terrible at remembering to double check my work on routine stuff, so now i force myself to say a step out loud like a crazy person while i do it. it's embarrassing but at least i'm not the guy whose wheel decides to leave the party at rotation.

gray_nelson3mo ago

But honestly, how many times does that actually cause a problem?

the_derek3mo ago

Actually cause a problem" is the whole point. You don't get to see the problem because it happens at 80 knots down the runway, not in the hangar. Skipping the torque check is just gambling with someone else's safety because you got lazy. It might not fail today, but you're sure making it more likely to fail someday. That's why the step is written down in the first place.