An MD520 helicopter incurred damage to the torque fan from loose parts left in the tailboom.

Attributes
ACN	519583
Time
Date	200107
Day	Tue
Local Time Of Day	1201 To 1800
Place
Locale Reference	airport : zzz.airport
State Reference	US
Altitude	agl single value : 0
Environment
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	tower : mcn.tower
Operator	other
Make Model Name	MD Helicopter 500/C/D/E/L
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	ground : maintenance
Person 1
Affiliation	other
Function	maintenance : technician
Qualification	technician : powerplant technician : airframe technician : inspection authority
ASRS Report	519583
Person 2
Affiliation	other
Function	maintenance : technician
Qualification	technician : airframe technician : inspection authority technician : powerplant
ASRS Report	519953
Events
Anomaly	aircraft equipment problem : critical maintenance problem : improper maintenance maintenance problem : improper documentation non adherence : published procedure non adherence : far
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	none taken : detected after the fact
Consequence	other other
Factors
Maintenance	contributing factor : schedule pressure performance deficiency : inspection performance deficiency : non compliance with legal requirements performance deficiency : repair performance deficiency : scheduled maintenance
Supplementary
Problem Areas	Maintenance Human Performance Aircraft
Primary Problem	Maintenance Human Performance

Narrative:

Fan pitch plate hardware somehow was placed in forward cone of tailboom before installation of tailboom. Hardware was not discovered until a teardown inspection of area after hardware had contacted anti-torque fan assembly causing in-flight vibration and damage to fan.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: AN MD520 HELI INCURRED DAMAGE TO THE TORQUE FAN FROM LOOSE PARTS LEFT IN THE TAILBOOM.

Narrative: FAN PITCH PLATE HARDWARE SOMEHOW WAS PLACED IN FORWARD CONE OF TAILBOOM BEFORE INSTALLATION OF TAILBOOM. HARDWARE WAS NOT DISCOVERED UNTIL A TEARDOWN INSPECTION OF AREA AFTER HARDWARE HAD CONTACTED ANTI-TORQUE FAN ASSEMBLY CAUSING INFLT VIBRATION AND DAMAGE TO FAN.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.