403rd maintainers honored for problem solving

  • Published
  • By Tech Sgt. Ryan Labadens
  • 403rd Wing Public Affairs
KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  Sometimes the very best solution is for Airmen to go beyond the norm - work further than the reactive checklists - to resolve an issue.  This was exactly the case with four Airmen from the 403rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.

Master Sgt. James Rials, 403rd AMXS crew chief, and Tech. Sgts. Fernando Betancourt, Vincent Hawkins and Michael Stansbury, 403rd AMXS aircraft electricians, were honored by 403rd Wing Commander Col. Frank Amodeo and Command Chief Master Sgt. Christopher Barnby for locating a problem with a check valve on air tubes in the cabin pressurization system used by the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron's WC-130Js and 815th and 345th Airlift Squadrons' C-130J aircraft.

For their part in resolving the problem, Rials, Betancourt and Stansbury were recognized during a meeting at the Roberts Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Facility here Sunday by receiving commander coins from Amodeo and command chief coins from Barnby. Hawkins was not present for the February unit training assembly and will receive his coins at a later time.

Since the summer of 2014, 403rd aircrew members and maintainers noticed problems with the aircraft cabin pressurization system. The issues became more frequent later during the year and soon affected several aircraft.

"The system wasn't working properly when operating below altitudes of 4,000 feet, and that can cause discomfort and potential medical issues for the aircrew, such as ears popping," said Rials.

Many of the normal diagnostic tests performed by the 403rd AMXS maintainers were not yielding results, so the maintainers decided to dig a little deeper to resolve the issue. After a little detective work, they found the problem. According to Stansbury, debris from one check valve would flow with the air currents down the quarter-inch tubing to the next check valve or T-valve, clogging the tubing at those points.

"It took nearly 500 man hours - nearly three weeks - to locate the problem," said Betancourt. He mentioned there were a lot of panels and ductwork to remove in order to get to the tubing so they could send a boroscope down them to try and locate the debris. The boroscope has a camera at the tip that allows them to look inside the tubes.

Rials said that replacing the older check valves with newer ones would resolve the debris issue.

Amodeo praised the maintainers for their ingenuity and dedication in tracking down and solving the problem.

"I'm proud of all our Airmen, and especially these four for the initiative they took to go above and beyond the call of duty," said Amodeo. "They serve as a great example of 'excellence in all we do.'"