Plane pulled over chocks.....

edasmus · #1 03-09-15, 08:35 AM

I have reason to believe the line person at my home airport failed to remove the wheel chocks and then pulled my skymaster over the wheel chocks with the tug. I'm on my way to discuss this with my shop however I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on what and exactly where to look for damage if any was to have occurred as a result of this action? There was one set of chocks on the copilot side main gear that the line crew did not notice.

Thanks,

Ed

hharney · #2 03-09-15, 10:17 PM

Ed, that's a really strong gear, I can't believe anything would be harmed but to check you would need to do a gear swing on jacks. I would check for any play with the gear down and locked. May need to adjust the down locks and make sure there is no indication of over stress on the spring gear. Cracked paint would be a good indication

edasmus · #3 03-10-15, 09:56 AM

Thanks Herb,

The FBO admitted the error. My shop echoed what you said about the strength of the gear and the unlikely chance of damage. I've worked with these guys since 2002 on my SkyMaster and our relationship is very good. They are going to perform the inspection and gear swing to verify the integrity of the system. Many times it seems as though the results of these sorts of events do not show up immediately. Ugh, anyway, thanks Herb.

SkyMac · #4 03-10-15, 07:20 PM

Hi Ed
I read some time ago where a Skymaster was towed by mechanical means a short distance with the park break still engaged, this resulted in damaged to the tunnel where the nose gear swings. If my memory serves me correct, visual creases we're what initially drew them to the issue.

Although highly unlikely, worth inspection.

Dave

edasmus · #5 03-10-15, 08:48 PM

Thanks for the reply Dave. We'll check it out!

Ed

JamesC · #6 06-19-15, 05:50 PM

Did you find out if there was any damage?
Happened to a Corvalis in the hangar I share.
On his next landing one of the tires blew and he had to be towed off the runway with a rolling dolly under the wheel.
No other damage. Might have been a snake-bite on the tube - it might be worthwhile checking for tire/tube damage though obviously if anything was actually leaking it would have shown up soon after the incident.

edasmus · #7 06-19-15, 10:32 PM

No known damage apparent yet. Shop claimed I was good to go and I've probably flown 10-15 hours since the incident with the gear going up and down just fine (maybe a dozen cycles or so). So far so good. Problem is, experience has taught me that these things don't always show up right away. Who knows. I'll just keep on truckin! ;o)

Thanks

Ed