tyb
Evenin'
She drinkin'… probably can't feel it, kek
Air Force grounds KC-135 fleet over fear tails could fall off mid-flight
WASHINGTON — The US Air Force has grounded its fleet of KC-135 tankers and reconnaissance planes in order to inspect and replace a key part that, if not fixed, could lead to aging planes’ tails falling off mid-flight.
Air Force Materiel Command has issued a time compliance order to inspect all KC-135s for faulty “tail pins” before their next flights, the service revealed Tuesday. Inspections must be completed within the next 15 days, and include not just the KC-135 refuelers, but the RC-135 reconnaissance planes and the WC-135 Constant Phoenix fleet.
[…snip]
According to that memo, which has been confirmed as authentic by Defense News, metallurgical analysis of the pins found“incorrect material, undersized dimensions, insufficient plating and lack of shot peening.”All told, that means the pins, which are used to hold in place the vertical stabilizer on the plane’s tail, could fail mid-flight.
Holy crap… that's a lot of "problems"… I wonder who made them?
fuk, forgot sauce
https://breakingdefense.com/2023/02/air-force-grounds-kc-135-fleet-over-fear-tails-could-fall-off-mid-flight/