Maintenance Airframe; Maintenance Powerplant
Communication Breakdown; Confusion; Situational Awareness; Training / Qualification
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical
General Maintenance Action
Human Factors; Chart Or Publication; Manuals; Procedure
When considering damage (dents) within the Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) area of a Boeing aircraft the following references are used; Structural Repair Manual (SRM) 53-00-01-1A-1 Allowable Damage; SRM 51-10-03 RVSM Skin Waviness Inspection and SRM 51-10-01 Aerodynamic Smoothness Requirements. A review of the requirements for RVSM flight based on SRM 51-10 requires a repair to be accomplished whenever the damage (dent) is outside SRM 53-00-01 Allowable Limits (reference Paragraph-3; B; 'NOTE'). SRM 53-00-01 Detail III requires a dent to be 10' inches or more from a cutout and 3' inches or more from a skin splice; as measured from the nearest fastener hole centerline to the edge of the dent periphery. If you layout the allowable areas within the RVSM that meet this requirement without requiring a repair; it's a very small area at the front end of the RVSM box. This whole process of RVSM determination for flight is very complicated and easy for anyone to make a mistake due to the process of qualifying a dent.  The requirements for other types of damage (NICKS; GOUGES; CORROSION; SCRATCHES and SCRIBE LINES) do not have the 10' inch rule described in SRM 53-00-01. This is just an informational statement for the purpose of making aware the potential for error. No known event has occurred; but a review of aircraft RVSM deferrals should be accomplished. [Recommend] Training; Training; Training. The RVSM area is very misunderstood due to the number of references required to determine the condition.
A Line Aircraft Maintenance Technician (AMT) describes the difficulty involved when considering damage (dents) that lie within the Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) areas of an aircraft's fuselage; prior to continued flight. AMT notes that references involving Structural Repair Manuals (SRM) 51-10-01 and SRM 53-00-01 can be misunderstood; more training is necessary.