Q400
Maintenance Airframe; Maintenance Powerplant
Time Pressure; Situational Awareness; Distraction; Confusion; Workload
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General Maintenance Action
Equipment / Tooling; Company Policy; Aircraft; Human Factors; Staffing; Incorrect / Not Installed / Unavailable Part
I showed up to work at approximately XA:00am for a prop blade change that was previously troubleshot the previous night due to a Prop Deice Caution. In addition to that we also had a second write-up for a Main Cabin Door (MCD) support cable broken. Initially all of our parts and tooling were sent to Cargo; so we needed a vehicle. Maintenance was unable to provide one until about XB:00; at which time we got a baggage cart with all of our parts and tooling. We drove out to the Q400 aircraft; to a remote parking spot and did an inventory to account for everything we were going to need. At the time; we realized we were missing two boxes. After going back and forth with Cargo and company Maintenance Stores [Parts] over the phone; we decided to go look for them ourselves; but had no luck. Around XC:00 Company Cargo called & said they found the missing pieces. We finally made it back out to the aircraft around XD:30 to begin our work. A few hours into the blade removal an Airport Operations Agent showed up & interrupted our work; he wanted to make sure we weren't working on a fuel; hydraulic or oil related component because that was not allowed in that remote parking spot. He looked around; got the questions he asked answered and went on with his own business. We continued working close to another hour when a 2nd Airport Operations Agent showed up & asked the same questions the first Agent did; except he said Heavy Maintenance like this was not allowed at any remote location; but since we were past the halfway point (blade was in; had just began the install) to just go ahead & finish; but for future reference we would need a Hangar spot. Another hour went by when a 3rd Airport OPS Agent came by and asked to see my badge; also asked to stop working & notified us that no maintenance 'at all' is allowed in that parking area (remotes). He went around & took snapshots of the whole setup from every possible angle & jumped in his car; raised the window & wouldn't answer any questions. Twenty minutes later the Maintenance Manager on duty called us and said to stop all work and clear the area so we could tow the aircraft to a hangar. We picked up our tools and got the aircraft ready for a tow. More time went by and after talking with Company Operations and the Airport Operations Supervisor; we got the OK to continue our work there. After getting the OK from our QX Maintenance Manager to continue work; we finished the blade install and engine runs around XE:00. We knew we still had the MCD support cable discrepancy to work so as soon as the runs were completed; we agreed that I would get everything setup for the blade re-torque; while he got a jump start on the cable Remove and Replace (R/R). I setup the hi-lift [equipment] in position; removed the spinner; and also removed the safety on the bolts that hold down the lock piece to the Bearing Assembly Ring nut. Did not break the torque on the bolts; only removed the safety wire at that point. I got off the hi-lift to service our hydraulic pump with grease when an Airport Operations car stopped by & asked if we were going to be doing anymore engine runs. Airport Operations was concerned with the large amount of traffic that was surrounding our aircraft. They had a bomb threat on an aircraft at the terminal so it was towed out to the remote gate in front of ours and about two dozen vehicles were there. Just asked [us] to be on the lookout for them. When I went to tell Mechanic Y; with (RII) [for work verification]; that everything was in place; he was on the phone with Maintenance Control who notified him to defer the re-torque and get the plane ready for a ferry flight due to the MCD cable issue. Mechanic Y agreed that he would get the galley back in position while I installed the spinner & did the deferral of the blade re-torque. We were then advised by Company Operations that the [flight] crew would be reaching their duty time soon and wanted to know if we were going to hit our deadline for the ferry; we had thirty minutes and time working against us. I hopped back on the hi-lift; did a General Visual Inspection (GVI) of the blade and looked for leaks. Everything looked good so I installed the spinner; began cleaning up and putting all of our tools and parts away. The crew showed up as we were working on the paperwork. We wrapped things up and the aircraft ferried. I was notified by Mechanic Z; who performed the RII of this work; that while trying to perform the re-torque of the blade they found that the safety wire was missing on the bolts that hold down the lock piece for the Bearing Assembly Ring nut & allegedly found one of the counterweight bolts just backed off. Time lost trying to get Company Maintenance support with equipment (vehicle; ladders; hitch to tow our tools/parts & hi-lift); time lost due to Company Cargo misplacement of parts. Multiple Interruptions by Airport Operations. AOG multiple write-ups. All of these reasons led to pressure and time crunch to have the aircraft up [ready] before [ferry flight]. The distraction by surrounding vehicles and personnel [concerns] and changes in plans during the middle of maintenance. I immediately notified my Supervisor the second I got off the phone with Mechanic Y. He had just become aware of the situation and we discussed thoroughly what happened that night.
A Line Mechanic reports how multiple interruptions from Airport Operations; time lost trying to acquire maintenance support equipment; changes in plans; and an unexpected decision to ferry their Q400 aircraft all contributed to hold down bolts for the propeller bearing ring assembly not being safety wired.