Narrative:

I was observing a maintenance task as required per an audit. The morning the event occurred an aircraft was in the hangar for a routine task. The mechanics were performing a task to lubricate the ram air turbine (RAT) and; once complete; re-stow the RAT into its fix and locked location. During the re-stow; the inspector is located on the forward side of the RAT rear facing. Mechanic #1 is located on the aft side of the RAT forward facing; and mechanic #2 is in the nose wheel well facing E2. Before the procedure began; the inspector did a paperwork review and a general visual inspection of the affected area. Mechanic #1 was holding the release pin so as the RAT could be unlocked to re-stow. Mechanic #2 was informed that the manual pumping procedure could begin. As the RAT ascended; mechanic #1 rotated the RAT and an audible click was heard and he confirmed to the inspector that the RAT was locked into the correct position for stowing. The RAT continued to rise into position; once the forward blade was very close to making contact with the airframe the auditor verbally warned that it was going to make contact; but it was too late and the blade contacted the airframe damaging both. The cause of the event is that the RAT was not in the correct and locked position. The mechanic rotated the RAT blades and both he and the inspector heard an audible click; but it was never verified that the lock pin was located in the corrected position.[suggest] more instructions and detail in the job cards that inform the users of the importance of ensuring that the lock pin is in the correct location. An alert to all mechanics and inspectors to be aware of this situation; and a training video of the correct procedure.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Maintenance Technician reported that while attempting to stow a Ram Air Turbine (RAT) on an ERJ-170; the blades were misaligned causing damage to the blades and the aircraft.

Narrative: I was observing a maintenance task as required per an audit. The morning the event occurred an aircraft was in the hangar for a routine task. The mechanics were performing a task to lubricate the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) and; once complete; re-stow the RAT into its fix and locked location. During the re-stow; the inspector is located on the forward side of the RAT rear facing. Mechanic #1 is located on the aft side of the RAT forward facing; and mechanic #2 is in the nose wheel well facing E2. Before the procedure began; the inspector did a paperwork review and a general visual inspection of the affected area. Mechanic #1 was holding the release pin so as the RAT could be unlocked to re-stow. Mechanic #2 was informed that the manual pumping procedure could begin. As the RAT ascended; Mechanic #1 rotated the RAT and an audible click was heard and he confirmed to the Inspector that the RAT was locked into the correct position for stowing. The RAT continued to rise into position; once the forward blade was very close to making contact with the airframe the auditor verbally warned that it was going to make contact; but it was too late and the blade contacted the airframe damaging both. The cause of the event is that the RAT was not in the correct and locked position. The mechanic rotated the RAT blades and both he and the inspector heard an audible click; but it was never verified that the lock pin was located in the corrected position.[Suggest] more instructions and detail in the job cards that inform the users of the importance of ensuring that the lock pin is in the correct location. An alert to all mechanics and inspectors to be aware of this situation; and a training video of the correct procedure.

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.