 |
37000 Feet | Browse and search NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System |
|
An aircraft maintenance technician (amt) was directed by an I/a inspector to remove an upper wing skin access panel on a piper PA46-310 malibu for an annual inspection (a/I). During removal; amt realizes the panel was part of the right wing fuel tank. Inspector and technician believe the piper aircraft maintenance manual (amm) is not very informative or detailed for the malibu aircraft.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1266835 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201505 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | PA-46 Malibu/Malibu Mirage/Malibu Matrix |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Parked |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Wing Access Panel |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Technician |
| Qualification | Maintenance Airframe Maintenance Powerplant |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy |
Narrative:
In ZZZ I began removing a wing panel from the right wing. I peeled off a corner of the panel and realized that it was a fuel tank. There was no fuel leak at that time. I resealed the panel and replaced the screws. Since the aircraft was based in ZZZ1 and the owner needed to return to ZZZ1 he elected to fly the aircraft to its home base with half tanks in case there was any fuel leak. Upon arriving and refueling two days later [in ZZZ1]; a small leak was noted from said wing panel. What caused the problem was my lack of experience and haste in removing the panel. To mitigate this in the future I will exercise more caution when removing panels. The panel is now being repaired at the home airport.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: An Aircraft Maintenance Technician (AMT) was directed by an I/A Inspector to remove an upper wing skin access panel on a Piper PA46-310 Malibu for an Annual Inspection (A/I). During removal; AMT realizes the panel was part of the right wing fuel tank. Inspector and Technician believe the Piper Aircraft Maintenance Manual (AMM) is not very informative or detailed for the Malibu aircraft.
Narrative: In ZZZ I began removing a wing panel from the right wing. I peeled off a corner of the panel and realized that it was a fuel tank. There was no fuel leak at that time. I resealed the panel and replaced the screws. Since the aircraft was based in ZZZ1 and the owner needed to return to ZZZ1 he elected to fly the aircraft to its home base with half tanks in case there was any fuel leak. Upon arriving and refueling two days later [in ZZZ1]; a small leak was noted from said wing panel. What caused the problem was my lack of experience and haste in removing the panel. To mitigate this in the future I will exercise more caution when removing panels. The panel is now being repaired at the home airport.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.