didn\\\'t check oil seals, jet mechanics say - the washington ...

Although China Eastern L1011 jets often have engine failures due to lost oil seals, they testified today that the two mechanics who served the jumbo jets did not check whether the seals were in place, all three of the aircraft\'s engines in the Atlantic have lost power.
On May 5, a flight carrying 172 people flew from Miami to Nassau and landed here urgently on a restarted, damaged engine, triggering a major federal investigation,
East mechanic Lynn Berris and James sambury told investigators at the National Transportation Safety Board that they were responsible for determining what was called O-
Ring installed.
\"Sometimes you check visually, sometimes you don\'t,\" Burris said . \".
This time, they work outdoors at night, and the light is not good, they say.
Federal officials said today that preliminary inspections with other airlines driving the L1011 in the country, including Trans World, Delta and Pan Am, did not find similar engine failure patterns.
On March 8, Joseph Pacheco, head of the Eastern machinery, issued a warning on the bulletin board of the maintenance department here, saying that there was a lack of O-
The ring caused an engine power loss for another eastern L1011 and caused four or five other similar incidents.
Sunbury said he had seen the note and Burris said he had not seen it and both said no one had caught their attention.
Pacheco, who is in charge of about 30 mechanics, testified that since the incident of May 5, the procedures for dealing with oil seals in the Eastern District have not changed.
But his boss, Kenneth Wilson, later testified that changes had been ordered, and James Ashlock, a spokesman for the East, said the changes had been implemented.
\"I can\'t explain this inconsistency,\" he said . \".
Federal sources said that, counting the events of May 5, as of 1981, 13 examples of the loss of engines in the eastern L1011s due to oil problems have been recorded.
Only one event involves more than one volume.
They said it was the Royce RB211 engine.
Although the eastern training directive was issued on November 1981 to alert maintenance personnel to such incidents, Burris and Sunbury said they had not heard of two incidents earlier that year.
The source of the drama is two. inch-
Long bolts with a magnetized tip, screw into the accessories in the engine oil circuit by hand.
Each L1011 engine is replaced once a day, checking the tip to see if metal debris is collected on it, which is a sign of engine wear.
Two rubber O-will be installed to replace the bolt-rings.
Security Council officials are focusing on who knows the sealing problem, when, and what has been done.
In 1979, when an American Airlines plane took off in Chicago, an engine fell off the plane, killing 273 people and raising the same question.
The accident was due to maintenance problems previously discovered, but was not widely spread throughout the industry.
A major issue that exists at the same time is whether the FAA Airline inspector is able to obtain information on such incidents and take any action to determine whether Eastern Airlines is fully informed of its mechanics problems, or tell other airlines on L1011s that Eastern Airlines is having trouble.
On March 8, Pacheco wrote and posted his warning in part: \"Yesterday, we sent an L1011 without O-\'s main chip detector BoltHanging rings are installed.
This leads to another
Flight closed due to loss of oil.
The memo urged the mechanics to be extra careful.
In relation to this letter, NTSB investigator Edward Krause asked Berris today: \"Do you remember any discussion about chip detectors?
Berris: \"No, sir.
Klaus: \"Have you received special training in replacing Chip detectors?
Berris: \"No, sir.
\"How did you learn to change the detector ? \"
\"Burris:\" assign cards strictly from work.
Klaus: \"Where is the chip? Is there a mechanical meeting?
Discussed the problem of detectors?
Berris: \"No, sir.
\"The incident of May 5 occurred because Burris extracted the chip --
This is the normal procedure when the detector bolts in the warehouse are not in the supervisor area.
The part he drew did not contain O-
Although there is a label on the ring that says \"available \".
\"Wilson, terminal aircraft maintenance manager in the east of here, later testified that the label should read\" unusable \".
Wilson said that after the incident, the East requested O-
Bolts can store rings.
Burris and Sunbury were asked about their engines.
Test procedure after installing new Bolt.
Experts say there is no seal, when the engine is started with compressed air, proper testing should produce oil leakage and compressed air will pressurize the oil system.
Federal officials have learned that it takes about 20 seconds to produce a leak under pressure.
Burris and Sunbury say they think
The second test is long enough.
At least 30 East now-
The second test, Wilson said.
Wilson testified, \"changing the bolt is such a routine, such a simple procedure, and I don\'t think anyone is aware of that.
Wilson said officials at Eastern Airlines were unaware of the company\'s previous 12 bolts-
Because they\'re \"systems-
Most of us are unaware of their existence.
\"Two days before interviewing witnesses, the board was still asking why, after the first engine failure, the crew chose to return to Miami instead of continuing to Nassau, closer to itCapt.
Richard Bodi explained that Nassau had no radar, so he returned to Miami.
That was before he knew all the engines would lose power.
He also noted that Nassau lacks maintenance facilities like Miami in the east.
The flight attendant, Christine O\'Steen, described the frightened passengers who, despite her instructions, inflated their life jackets and screamed in panic,