A320
Maintenance Powerplant; Maintenance Airframe
Confusion; Situational Awareness; Communication Breakdown
No Specific Anomaly Occurred All Types
General Physical Injury / Incapacitation
Human Factors; Equipment / Tooling; Company Policy; Aircraft
I am filing this report due to an ongoing safety concern with regards to unsafe tooling for changing the tires on the A320/319 aircraft. The tooling in question is the poorly designed socket in the Tire Change Kits at the Terminal and Hangar. Last year; 2011; I strained my back due to this socket slipping off the [axle] nut while torquing a tire on an A320 and I was off work for over a month and went through several sessions of physical therapy. Tonight; I was involved with another A320 tire change and nearly a year later; I see nothing has been done to replace or fix this unsafe socket. After I came back from the hospital last year just after injuring my back and before going home; I had sat down with several Mangers; Supervisors and a company Safety Representative and discussed ideas to fix and redesign this socket. I am upset that nothing has been done to fix this. The potential for injury to me and my co-workers still exists; not to mention damage to the axle nut and possibly improper torque of this nut; from the sloppy fit of this tool. My most important concern is to keep co-workers from getting hurt like I was last year.
A Line Mechanic raises safety concerns about an unsafe and poorly designed axle nut socket tool used to remove and install Main Landing Gear (MLG) tires on A319/320 aircraft. The potential for possible injury to himself and others still exists including improper nut torque and damage to the axle nut from the sloppy fit of the tool.