The US Air Force has implemented a fleet-wide safety inspection for its KC-135 Stratotanker military air refueling fleet.
The Time Compliance Technical Order (TCTO) restricts KC-135s from all flight operations due to “non-conforming” vertical tail assemblies.
Located on the rear of the plane, the assembly maintains the vehicle’s center of gravity and the flight’s overall stabilization.
The temporary stand-down will be lifted once the aircraft passes an approximately 30-minute inspection of the part.
“We’re taking this action out of an abundance of caution, after consulting with our engineering experts,” US Air Force Legacy Tanker Senior Materiel Leader Col. Michael Kovalchek stated.
“We are working closely with Air Mobility Command and all operational users and anticipate all potentially affected aircraft will be inspected.”
Initial KC-135 Stand-Down Order
The latest directive follows a similar inspection ordered earlier this month, in which the KC-135 fleet was inspected for non-conforming vertical fitting pins or tail pins.
The pins are responsible for attaching larger segments while preventing disassembly.
According to the US Air Force, the service discovered some pins that were not confirmed to meet technical specifications and “may have been installed on some KC-135, RC-135, and WC-135 jets.”
Although the first KC-135 inspection required each aircraft to undergo examinations for the next 15 days, the recent TCTO requires an inspection before the next flight.
As of the latest update, 24 out of 90 inspected aircraft were found with non-conforming pins.
Aircraft that have passed the inspection have been returned to their respective operations.
Meanwhile, planes with non-conforming parts will be authorized a one-time flight to a repair site at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex. The pin replacement is expected to be completed within a day.