BY AT2 GRADY CALHOUN, VFA-27
I WAS
“SHOCKED“
32
A
s I reported to work, I was informed our integrated weapons team’s leader (IWTL) was not feeling well and I may be responsible for the evening’s required release and control (R and C) Checks.At first glance the process looks easy, however it can be time consuming and cumbersome. It involves several cables, a long checklist, and a few important steps, but nothing I hadn’t done hundreds of times before. The first of two R and Cs were performed by the IWTL with no incident. He managed to get the second one set-up before he “tapped out” and asked me to finish them up. I walked to the flight deck and began verifying everything was set up on the aircraft. For those unfamiliar, an R and C is used to verify the weapon system stations are communicating with the aircraft properly. When performing the R and C check, it is common to check multiple stations using the same test gear. After one station’s R and C is checked, the test gear is moved to the next weapon station for the next check. Depending on the aircraft configuration, between one to five stations will require testing. This particular aircraft was going to involve running an R and C on station one followed by the
same test on the opposite wingtip station 11. This setup requires connecting the aircraft weapons maintenance (AWM-103B) test set to station onewhile also connecting the AWM-103B to aircraft power via a connected W1 power cable. At the completion of the R and C on station one, it is common to move the AWM-103B to the next station with power still available via the W1 cable. I have completed or supervised this evolution countless times. However, I was not observing what was out of the ordinary this time. The test on station one ran without a glitch. As my team member grabbed the AWM-103B to remove it from station one, he received an electrical shock. At the time, he failed to notify me or anyone else of the jolt, so we continued on with the release and control checks. We completed the rest of the night’s checks without issue. When I returned to work the following night, I was informed that my team member had been shocked the night prior and made a visit to medical due to numbness in his arm. My immediate question was “when and how did he get shocked?” The next two days involved me testing and retesting gear as I chased an intermittent stray voltage gripe. At no point should anyone
Approach-MECH
