16 August 2019

Six percent of US Air Force C-130 fleet remains out of service due to rainbow-fitting inspections

by Pat Host

Approximately 6% of the US Air Force’s (USAF’s) Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules medium transport/multirole aircraft fleet remains out of service as the air force continues its rainbow-fitting inspections.

The USAF announced on 7 August that 123 of 450 aircraft were temporarily removed from service after atypical cracks were found on the lower centre wing joint, or rainbow fitting, during programmed depot maintenance. USAF spokesperson Jonathan Simmons said on 15 August that 98 aircraft had been inspected and 97 platforms returned to service as of 14 August.

The US Air Force is focusing on inspections of C-130H (pictured) and J-model aircraft after cracks in the rainbow fitting forced the service to ground 27% of its fleet on 7 August. Roughly 6% of the fleet remains out of service for inspections. ((IHS Markit/Jamie Hunter))

After announcing its grounding, the air force only found rainbow-fitting cracks in two Air National Guard (ANG) aircraft: the one that prompted the original grounding, from Carswell, Texas, and another from Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. Both aircraft will remain out of service for 1–2 months as they undergo replacement fitting procedures, Simmons said.

After the USAF discovered these initial cracks, AMC Commander General Maryanne Miller directed an immediate time compliance technical order (TCTO) inspection to identify and correct any cracking to ensure airworthiness of the C-130 aircraft, the service said on 7 August. In accordance with the TCTO, in-depth visual and modified non-destructive inspections of the wing box were being conducted on the affected C-130H and J-model aircraft that had not received the extended service life centre wing box and had greater than 15,000 equivalent flight hours.

Approximately 6% of the US Air Force’s (USAF’s) Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules medium transport/mult...

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