By Capt. David Neely
e had been looking over his right shoulder, focused on clearing an LAU-7 launcher also mounted to the aircraft. A taxi director had yelled for him to stop, but, because of airfield noise, he didn’t hear the director’s commands. The result: The aft left-portion of the loader ran into the forward section of the TPOD. The damage, though superficial, easily could have been in the Class-C range if the loader had hit harder. Background: • The CO instructed maintenance not to store equipment near the aircraft because of the unique parking situation found at Kadena Air Force Base (AFB), Japan. The mishap aircraft was parked 21 feet from the bomb trailer; a 14-foot loader was used to transport bombs to the aircraft. • The steady launch of aircraft near the live-ordnance loading-area hinders verbal communication. • The driver was fatigued and had an acute illness developing at the time of the incident. • The mishap QA safety observer had just been relieved from his 24-hour post two hours prior to the mishap. • Post-mishap medical screening found that the driver should wear corrective lenses for all duties, especially when operating equipment. • At the time of the incident, the driver wasn’t licensed to drive and operate the loader because of a clerical error. • During the loading evolution, Marines were changing a tire on the aircraft.
Spring 2010
7
