Shoutout to the old timer who caught my crimp mistake at SEA

I was working a line maintenance shift at Seattle-Tacoma last March re-pinning a D-sub connector on a CRJ-200. Some retired Air Force avionics guy, probably 70 years old, just watched me from the doorway of the avionics bay for a solid two minutes. He walked over and asked me if I actually checked the pin retention force before closing the backshell. I hadn't, figured it was fine since the crimp looked clean. He pulled out his own pin extraction tool and showed me three pins in my connector that would have vibrated loose within 50 flight hours. He said something like "the wire ain't married to the pin till you feel that click." I've never skipped a pull-test since then, and I check every single pin in a connector no matter how rushed I am. Any of you guys have a mentor moment like that where someone saved you from a dumb mistake?

2 comments

2 Comments

maxmurphy5d ago

Used to skip the pull test all the time, not anymore after that.

skyler_anderson655d ago

Did that old timer happen to mention what brand of extraction tool he used? Mine has saved me a few times on hard to reach jobs. I had a similar wake up call on a 737 about 8 years ago when a senior guy caught me skipping a torque check on a panel screw. He showed me how even a small vibration can loosen those fasteners over time. I still think about that lesson every time I reach for the torque wrench.