Another TIMCO failure - 757 with blocked exit rows due to misaligned econ seats

[cf6mech]

E would fit in perfectly with most of our production supervisors on the floor at M&E. Sorry E,nothing personal,just an observation.

 

[dfw gen]

E would fit in perfectly with most of our production supervisors on the floor at M&E. Sorry E,nothing personal,just an observation.

you can say that again.

 

[WorldTraveler]

Have I missed something or has the FAA not filed anything more regarding AA's potential fines for which it notified the BK court last summer about possibly doing.

 

[Glenn Quagmire]

I am sure that a fresh LOI is in the mail after this latest...


"The misaligned seats were discovered at Kennedy Airport on Saturday by an American Airlines crew during a routine maintenance check.

The seats were about 2 inches out of line — enough, said sources, to prevent the emergency hatches from properly opening.

American said the seats were only “slightly out of configuration,” and denied that the exits were blocked.

After all-day repairs by American workers at Kennedy, the plane was put back in service on Sunday morning.

Sources said the seats were aligned improperly when the plane was sent to a TIMCO Aviation Services Inc. facility in North Carolina early in December for interior cabin work."

 

[Phoenix]

I could almost feel sorry for Horton, since keeping his job gets tougher by the day with news stories like this... Almost sorry, but he has no excuse for the tail on the livery. Ford put a toilet seat on the nose of the Edsel, Horton put a PowerPoint bar graph on the tail of the plane.

 

[DNTULSA]

It all comes down to the QA. If the AA guys on-site at Timco are only concerned with is the paperwork, then crap is going to show up on the line.

Not trying to shift blame from Timco -- they screwed up.

But....

1) How did it go thru months of A checks and probably a B check or two without a mechanic noticing?

2) How did hundreds of flight attendants do pre-flight safety checks without reporting this? Aren't they supposed to check exit doors?

Checks and balances only work if the checks are actually made...

Perhaps AA management told the AA Mechanic assigned to Timco to only LOOK at the paperwork.

I've seen management do things just as strange during my years as an AA mechanic.

 

[eolesen]

Seat spacing ck no however A ck does call out to make sure seats don't block exit

And apparently, checking to make sure the exit wasn't blocked didn't get done.

Repeatedly.

This time, the problem was caused by Timco. No argument, no dispute.

Not directed at any one person here, but what's going to be your excuse the next time something out of limits is ignored, and it's not Timco's fault?

It's obvious that Timco's got a problem doing the job correctly. If it were me, I'd be looking extra-hard for each and every flaws in their work to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt why they're incompetent.

Hard data always wins. If you're not reporting the flaws, you're not helping build the case against outsourcing.

What's worse, if you're letting stuff like this go unchecked for weeks and months, then you're really undercutting the value that insourced the line mechanic supposedly brings.

Remember during the NWA strike when every mistake made by the replacement mechanics was being posted here?

It eventually worked -- there was hard data to prove the incompetence, NWA was getting bad press, and the strike was settled.

Same thing used to happen with MCI --- some of you had no qualms about calling out when MCI wasn't doing things as well as TUL or AFW were. Why be silent when it comes to Timco?

Y'all like to wrap yourselves in the cloak of being safety professionals, but only when it's convenient, like contract negotiations.

If you're professionals, start acting like it.

 

[xmarlin]

If you're professionals, start acting like it.

And risk being labeled a trouble-maker? You are really reaching now.

Pointing anything out these days is asking for trouble. I don't think you have any idea how abusive M&E management has become of its workforce these last few months.

 

[Slopoke]

I do know that on the 767 B-cks, that a work card assigned to QC checks to make sure that the seat back dose not block the overwing exit.

 

[chris perry]

And apparently, checking to make sure the exit wasn't blocked didn't get done.

Repeatedly.

This time, the problem was caused by Timco. No argument, no dispute.

Not directed at any one person here, but what's going to be your excuse the next time something out of limits is ignored, and it's not Timco's fault?

It's obvious that Timco's got a problem doing the job correctly. If it were me, I'd be looking extra-hard for each and every flaws in their work to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt why they're incompetent.

Hard data always wins. If you're not reporting the flaws, you're not helping build the case against outsourcing.

What's worse, if you're letting stuff like this go unchecked for weeks and months, then you're really undercutting the value that insourced the line mechanic supposedly brings.

Remember during the NWA strike when every mistake made by the replacement mechanics was being posted here?

It eventually worked -- there was hard data to prove the incompetence, NWA was getting bad press, and the strike was settled.

Same thing used to happen with MCI --- some of you had no qualms about calling out when MCI wasn't doing things as well as TUL or AFW were. Why be silent when it comes to Timco?

Y'all like to wrap yourselves in the cloak of being safety professionals, but only when it's convenient, like contract negotiations.

If you're professionals, start acting like it.

Whistle blower protection is non existent for airline workers,one only has to look at Northwest Airlines mechanic's fired. There is a clear vow of silence.Why are airline workers excluded from that protection? Workers are at risk even being on this forum.

 

[Bob Owens]

It all comes down to the QA. If the AA guys on-site at Timco are only concerned with is the paperwork, then crap is going to show up on the line.

Not trying to shift blame from Timco -- they screwed up.

But....

1) How did it go thru months of A checks and probably a B check or two without a mechanic noticing?

2) How did hundreds of flight attendants do pre-flight safety checks without reporting this? Aren't they supposed to check exit doors?

Checks and balances only work if the checks are actually made...

Who says it went through months of Achecks?
It was found on a B-Check.

There definitely has to be a cultural change in Line maintenance now that the company is outsourcing. the fact is that Tulsa and AFW both did excellent work, everything was usually done right by the time it got back to us, and we got complacent. Now we have to assume that everything has been done wrong.

 

[cf6mech]

Very simple, the proffesionalism E speaks of was the quiet proffesionalism we showed day in and day out with none of these problems arising in the past like the seats (wait till the planes come back from China) which,.... as we see now,.... went unappreciated by AMR corporate in the lowest pay and compensation in the industry now,...alot of the real pro's have left, or seek a way out (if young enough),the over sighters with experiance in QA now on the floor not over sighting anymore and trying to get use to their new positions abandoned years ago, and in general the hostle enviroment we have seen since 03,is still around for us low life mechs.

 

[cf6mech]

There definitely has to be a cultural change in Line maintenance now that the company is outsourcing. the fact is that Tulsa and AFW both did excellent work, everything was usually done right by the time it got back to us, and we got complacent. Now we have to assume that everything has been done wrong.

This is a very good point, the excellance shown by both of our overhaul facilities was by far the very best in the world,..bar none. Its a crying shame that when we tried outsourcing it was so mishandled by our leaders who ignored crew chiefs and labor to make it a success....we now have to switch gears and scrutinize everything, which long term slows the process and even further handicaps and burdens those that are left making it happen.

 

[chris perry]

It definitely causes delay's and cancellations.