A mechanic reports he jacked the fuselage nose of a company crj aircraft in their hangar to level th...

Narrative:

Tail dents on a crj aircraft. I was performing the new crj-700/900 gear door measuring task; which requires aircraft on jacks. After returning from lunch break; I noticed the aircraft was pointing slightly nose down. I jacked the nose of the aircraft to level it for a moment; and then realized that the tail stand was installed; I then stopped the jacking. The tail stand was tight to the airframe so I pushed it out. I then inspected the area and found dents 2-3 inches behind where the tail stand was installed. I notified the lead mechanic and he asked sheetmetal to take a look. I thought I could have caused the dents. After everyone looked at where our tail stand was in relation to the dents; and that the dents were dirt covered; it was possible the dents were already there. At the time; the dents were only slightly noticeable. I expected to have a dent deferral so I continued on with the gear door tasks and sheetmetal started marking and measuring the dents. I have not jacked an aircraft very many times; but I have thought a lot about the jacking process and suggest four people be required for jacking and placards on jacks that state 'check for tail stand.'

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Mechanic reports he jacked the fuselage nose of a company CRJ aircraft in their hangar to level the airplane after noticing the aircraft in a slightly nose down attitude. Than he realized the tail stand was still installed.

Narrative: Tail dents on a CRJ aircraft. I was performing the new CRJ-700/900 Gear Door Measuring Task; which requires aircraft on jacks. After returning from lunch break; I noticed the aircraft was pointing slightly nose down. I jacked the nose of the aircraft to level it for a moment; and then realized that the Tail Stand was installed; I then stopped the jacking. The Tail Stand was tight to the airframe so I pushed it out. I then inspected the area and found dents 2-3 inches behind where the Tail Stand was installed. I notified the Lead Mechanic and he asked Sheetmetal to take a look. I thought I could have caused the dents. After everyone looked at where our Tail Stand was in relation to the dents; and that the dents were dirt covered; it was possible the dents were already there. At the time; the dents were only slightly noticeable. I expected to have a dent deferral so I continued on with the gear door tasks and Sheetmetal started marking and measuring the dents. I have not jacked an aircraft very many times; but I have thought a lot about the jacking process and suggest four people be required for jacking and placards on jacks that state 'Check for Tail Stand.'

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	1009707
Time
Date	201205
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Regional Jet 700 ER/LR (CRJ700)
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Parked
Component
Aircraft Component	Fuselage Skin
Person 1
Function	Technician
Qualification	Maintenance Airframe Maintenance Powerplant
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

A mechanic reports he jacked the fuselage nose of a company crj aircraft in their hangar to level the airplane after noticing the aircraft in a slightly nose down attitude. Than he realized the tail stand was still installed.