Got chewed out by a lead mechanic at DAL after I missed a cracked oil line on walkaround

I was doing a preflight at the gate in Atlanta last month and he pointed out a hairline crack I'd totally glossed over on a 737 oil return line - now I carry a little LED pen light in my vest pocket and go over every inch of tubing with it before signing off. Anybody else have a moment where an old head showed you something you'd been missing for years?

2 comments

2 Comments

ray_king12d ago

Hold up, im gonna play devils advocate here. That light is just making you slower. If you really needed a pen light to catch a hairline crack on an oil line, maybe the problem isnt the light, its that you dont know what youre looking for. Old heads like that lead have been doing this since before LEDs were a thing and they never needed one. Youre just adding extra gear to cover for not having the right eyeballs yet. Learn the feel of the metal, the way the oil wicks, not just shine a light at everything.

paulb9812d ago

Three years ago I would've agreed with you completely, but after watching a buddy spot a crack on a rusty fuel line that I had already run my fingers over twice, I changed my mind. Sometimes a bright light just shows you what your hands can't feel yet, especially on something caked in grime.