Bell Helicopter 412
Maintenance Airframe; Maintenance Powerplant
Communication Breakdown; Confusion; Situational Awareness; Training / Qualification
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General Maintenance Action
Human Factors
A Federal Inspector arrived on board at ZZZ Base. I was on a scheduled/Maintenance flight and did not land until around XA:45am. I picked him up from the front gate approximately fifteen minutes later. On the drive over he asked me if I had bought torque wrenches since his last visit; I told him that I had bought them but they were not calibrated yet. We arrived at the pad and went into the trailer; I gave him the past three Logbooks and he began to look through them. After studying the Logbooks for a few minutes he asked me what a 900-hour/12-month Inspection was and to explain it to him. After telling him it was a Visual Inspection of the engine he asked me what a 400-hour/12-month was and I showed him the [FAA] Approved Aircraft Inspection Program (AAIP) and walked him through it step by step. Once I got to the cleaning of the filter and a spot inspection by the Inspector of the oil filter change; he asked me to reference the Maintenance Manual (M/M). While I was looking up the maintenance instructions; he wanted me to look up an Airworthiness Directive (AD) and tell him if it had been done. He stepped outside and began to ramp check the helicopter. When I looked up the AD and after talking to Mr.Y and Z; it turned out that it had been done. After I looked up the maintenance instructions in the Pratt & Whitney Maintenance Manual; I discovered that I had not torqued the three nuts that hold on the filter housing in accordance with the manual. I snugged up the nuts and knew enough not to over tighten or I would pull the stud out; but I did not use a calibrated torque wrench. When the Inspector was done ramping the helicopter he came back inside and I showed him the maintenance steps. He asked me how I had torqued the three nuts if I did not have torque wrenches and I was not about to lie; I told him that I snugged up the nuts and leak checked when the maintenance was complete. Being a new civilian Mechanic; it is now very clear to me how important it is to follow the Manufacturer's maintenance instructions verbatim; no matter how small the task may be. Now I know that signing-off an inspection without following the Maintenance Manual is very serious and I can assure the company that this is a mistake that will not happen again. If there is ever a reason I need a tool that I do not have; all maintenance will come to a stop and I will coordinate with my lead to get the tools I need. I have a request in to get my tools calibrated. I will be sure to stay on top of the calibration dates and send those [tools] in when applicable in the future.
A Line Mechanic describes his interactions with an FAA Inspector before; during; and after an oil filter change on a Bell BHT-412 helicopter.