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MD11 captain reports a crack in the inboard pylon of the number 3 engine being discovered by the first officer during preflight. A previous crack had been repaired by welding; but the crack had propagated through the weld. A stop drill is authorized and accomplished. The captain questions scrutiny of the aircraft by maintenance and other flight crews.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1191145 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201407 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | MD-11 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Parked |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Nacelle/Pylon Skin |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying Captain |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe |
Narrative:
During preflight; first officer found a crack in the inboard pylon of the number 3 engine. The crack had migrated across a previous weld. The crack was reported to maintenance; and written up in the logbook. Maintenance consulted with maintenance control and determined that the crack could be stop-drilled; an ea was required; requested and received. A two hour delay was incurred. Original crack was welded. Crack started at a rivet hole and migrated across the weld. Several things bother me. Why was this not discovered by maintenance? Why did the out-going crew miss the crack unless it started on our flight which is doubtful. I think we need an individual from flight operations with a significant maintenance background and use them to qa maintenance on our aircraft. I have flown with this first officer before and he keeps finding things that are being missed. Maintenance apparently needs more people...staffing adequate.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: MD11 Captain reports a crack in the inboard pylon of the Number 3 engine being discovered by the First Officer during preflight. A previous crack had been repaired by welding; but the crack had propagated through the weld. A stop drill is authorized and accomplished. The Captain questions scrutiny of the aircraft by Maintenance and other flight crews.
Narrative: During preflight; First Officer found a crack in the inboard pylon of the Number 3 engine. The crack had migrated across a previous weld. The crack was reported to Maintenance; and written up in the logbook. Maintenance consulted with Maintenance Control and determined that the crack could be stop-drilled; an EA was required; requested and received. A two hour delay was incurred. Original crack was welded. Crack started at a rivet hole and migrated across the weld. Several things bother me. Why was this not discovered by Maintenance? Why did the out-going crew miss the crack unless it started on our flight which is doubtful. I think we need an individual from flight operations with a significant maintenance background and use them to QA maintenance on our aircraft. I have flown with this First Officer before and he keeps finding things that are being missed. Maintenance apparently needs more people...staffing adequate.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.