TO FITWINGLANT INFO COMNAVAIRLANT NORFOLK VA COMNAVAIRPAC SAN DIEGO CA COMNAVSAFECEN NORFOLK VA NAS OCEANA VA COMFITWINGLANT OCEANA VA RATUAAA1 RUCOMAO0006 0751542-UUUU--RUCOPAW. ZNR UUUUU ZUI RUCOMCB1970 0751941 R 151542Z MAR 04 ZYB PSN 870090I24 FM COMFITWINGLANT OCEANA VA TO FITWINGLANT INFO RUCOSSA/COMNAVAIRLANT NORFOLK VA RUWFEAA/COMNAVAIRPAC SAN DIEGO CA RUCOPAW/COMNAVSAFECEN NORFOLK VA RUCOMAS/NAS OCEANA VA RUCOMAO/COMFITWINGLANT OCEANA VA BT UNCLAS //N03500// MSGID/GENADMIN/CFWL/-/MAR// SUBJ/FIGHTER WING SAFETY GRAM// POC/ASHCRAFT, C.R./LCDR/CFWL/LOC:NAS OCEANA/TEL:DSN:433-4021 /TEL:COM:(757)433-4021/EMAIL:CHRISTINA.ASHCRAFT@NAVY.MIL// GENTEXT/REMARKS/1. THIS EDITION OF THE SAFETY GRAM COMES FROM THE "TOMCATTERS" OF VF-31. VF-32 "SWORDSMEN" WILL PREPARE THE NEXT SAFETY GRAM INPUT. 2. VF-31 RELEASED A HAZREP IN MARCH DETAILING OUR OBSERVATIONS WITH THE FUEL SYSTEM AND ITS GROWING MALFUNCTIONS. IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE BODY OF THE TEXT, ALLOW ME TO SUMMARIZE. A HIGH PRESSURE PAGE 02 RUCOMAO0006 UNCLAS MOTIVE FLOW FUEL LINE FROM THE FORWARD AND RIGHT SYSTEM RUPTURED IN ONE OF THE AFT AND LEFT FUEL CELLS. THIS CAUSED UNCONTROLLED AND UNCOMMANDED MIGRATION OF FUEL FROM ONE SYSTEM TO THE OTHER. THE FERREL ENDS OF THE MOTIVE FLOW LINE WHERE THEY ARE JOINED AT A WIGGINS FITTING CAUSED THE FAILURE. WHAT THIS MEANS TO NON-MAINTAINERS IS THAT THE PIPES ARE GETTING OLD, AND ARE NOT FITTING AS WELL TOGETHER AS THEY DID 30 YEARS AGO WHEN THEY WERE ORIGINALLY INSTALLED. ADDITIONALLY, THERE IS CURRENTLY NO COMPANY MANUFACTURING NEW LINES FOR THESE SYSTEMS, SO AS THEY FAIL, THEY ARE BEING HAND MANUFACTURED AT AIMD FOR REINSTALLATION. WHILE THESE NEW LINES ARE NOT FAILING, ADDITIONAL MAINTENANCE IS REQUIRED TO CREATE, FIT, AND INSTALL THE NEW LINES. EXTRA TIME IS SPENT REFITTING THE LINES IF THE FIRST ATTEMPT WAS NOT EXACTLY CORRECT. WE UNDERSTAND THAT FITWING AND NORTHROP-GRUMMAN ARE TRACKING THESE FAILURES AND ASK ALL THE OTHER TOMCAT SQUADRONS TO TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT THEIR FUEL SYSTEMS AND REPORT ANY DISCREPANCIES. THIS EFFORT COULD RESULT IN A SET OF REPLACEMENT LINES MANUFACTURED TO ORIGINAL SPECIFICATIONS AND PROVIDED IN A KIT INSTALLED DURING ROUTINE FUEL CELL MAINTENANCE. 3. THE OCEANA WELLS UNIT HOSES AS WELL AS THE HUFFER HOSES ARE BEGINNING TO BECOME WORN. SEVERAL HOSES HAVE FAILED IN THE LAST SIX PAGE 03 RUCOMAO0006 UNCLAS MONTHS, WHICH COULD HAVE CAUSED SERIOUS INJURIES AROUND THE AIRCRAFT AS WELL AS A GREAT RISK OF FOD. ROUTINE INSPECTION OF THESE HOSES AND THE FITTINGS THAT MATE WITH THE AIRCRAFT MIGHT MITIGATE THIS RISK AND PREVENT THE LOSS OF PERSONNEL OR AIRCRAFT. 4. HANGAR 500 IS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION. IF YOU HAVE BEEN LIVING DOWN IN 404 OR 200, YOU HAVEN'T HAD TO EXPERIENCE THE TORN UP FLOOR, THE TORN UP OVERHEAD AND THE GREAT MASS OF PIPING INSTALLED TO SUPPORT THE NEW IN-FLOOR FIRE FIGHTING SYSTEM. THOUGH THE CONTRACTORS ARE EXPECTED TO CLEAN UP AFTER THEMSELVES AND POLICE UP THEIR MESSES, THE FACT REMAINS THAT THEY ARE CONTRACTORS AND DO NOT FULLY COMPREHEND THE FOD RISK TO OUR AIRCRAFT. EVERYONE WORKING AROUND THIS CONSTRUCTION NEEDS TO EXERCISE INCREASED VIGILANCE FOR FOD DRIFTING OUT OF THE HANGAR AREA AND ONTO THE LINES. 5. THE WEATHER IS CHANGING. SPRING HAS COME TO HAMPTON ROADS, SORT OF. WE SEEM TO BE LIVING IN THAT STRANGE TIME OF YEAR IN WHICH THE TEMPERATURE CAN SWING IN EXCESS OF 30 DEGREES IN AN AFTERNOON. POP UP THUNDERSTORMS, COLD FRONTS, FOG, AND TEMPERATURE SWINGS ARE ALL WEATHER CONCERNS THAT AFFECT OUR AIRCRAFT AND OUR PERSONNEL. EVERYONE NEEDS TO KEEP A WEATHER EYE TURNED TO THE SKY TO WATCH FOR RAPID ATMOSPHERIC CHANGES IN ORDER TO TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION. PAGE 04 RUCOMAO0006 UNCLAS ENSURE THAT CREWS ARE BRIEFING WET RUNWAY OPERATIONS AS WELL AS PROPER PENETRATION TECHNIQUES FOR INCLEMENT WEATHER. ALSO, MAKE SURE THE MAINTAINERS ARE PROPERLY OUTFITTED FOR THE CURRENT CONDITIONS, WHETHER THAT IS WARM OR COLD. SUNBURN CAN BE AS DEBILITATING AS FROSTBITE. KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR PEOPLE. 6. FROM WING SAFETY. TO FACILITATE CONSTRUCTION OF THE MAIN GATE, A TEMPORARY BYPASS ROAD HAS BEEN BUILT TO ROUTE TRAFFIC AWAY FROM THE CONSTRUCTION SITE. THE TRAFFIC PATTERN CHANGES 21 MARCH 2004. THIS CONSTRUCTION HAS THE POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGING THE TRAFFIC PATTERN ON NAS OCEANA FOR QUITE A WHILE. THE NAVY REGION, MID-ATLANTIC VIRGINIA BEACH SAFETY STOREFRONT HAS POSTED A MAP OF THE NEW MAIN GATE CONSTRUCTION ZONE ON ITS WEBSITE AT . THE WEB SITE HAS A PRINTABLE VERSION FOR DISTRIBUTION AND POSTING ON BULLETIN BOARDS. QUESTIONS SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO THE SAFETY OFFICE AT SAFETY@NASOCEANA.NAVY.MIL. 7. COMMODORE'S COMMENTS. EI'S, EMR'S AND HMR'S ARE VALUABLE TOOLS TO DOCUMENT FAULTY OR POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS SYSTEMS/EQUIPMENT. THEY ARE NOT SUFFICIENT TO CLOSE THE LOOP ON COMMUNITY SAFETY ISSUES. PAGE 05 RUCOMAO0006 UNCLAS HAZREPS ARE REQUIRED TO BRING APPROPRIATE LEVEL OF ATTENTION TO FUND FIXES FOR SAFETY ACTION ITEMS. DURING THE TWILIGHT OF THE TOMCAT, HAZARD REPORTING WILL ENSURE THAT OUR SAFETY OF FLIGHT REQUIREMENTS ARE MET UNTIL THE FINAL FULL STOP.// BT #0006 NNNN