A mechanic was informed 36-hours after installing a nose landing gear (nlg) lower torque link on a c...

Narrative:

I was called back to work approximately 36-hours after the work was performed. I was told that the aircraft had to come back to the airport; due to a landing gear problem. I was informed that I had installed the bottom torque link upside down by management. I was not aware that this part could be installed this way. I may have flipped this part inadvertently when removing it and placing it on my tool box top; to compare and make sure that the two parts matched. I now understand after having a conversation with management; that I made a mistake. I was the only person that was assigned to the nose gear on this night. Task for removal of lower torque link; task for installation of lower torque link; task for operational test of both torque links. I suggest we look into having an arrow stamped on this part; so when it is not connected to the top torque link; that the arrow points to the top of the plane; or to the top torque link? Maybe having the top torque link with a stamped arrow on it pointing to the lower torque link and having these two arrows line up?

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Mechanic was informed 36-hours after installing a nose landing gear (NLG) lower torque link on a CRJ-900; the aircraft had to return to field; due to a landing gear problem. The NLG lower torque link had been installed upside down.

Narrative: I was called back to work approximately 36-hours after the work was performed. I was told that the aircraft had to come back to the airport; due to a landing gear problem. I was informed that I had installed the bottom torque link upside down by Management. I was not aware that this part could be installed this way. I may have flipped this part inadvertently when removing it and placing it on my tool box top; to compare and make sure that the two parts matched. I now understand after having a conversation with Management; that I made a mistake. I was the only person that was assigned to the nose gear on this night. Task for removal of lower torque link; task for installation of lower torque link; task for operational test of both torque links. I suggest we look into having an arrow stamped on this part; so when it is not connected to the top torque link; that the arrow points to the top of the plane; or to the top torque link? Maybe having the top torque link with a stamped arrow on it pointing to the lower torque link and having these two arrows line up?

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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	857681
Time
Date	200910
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Regional Jet 900 (CRJ900)
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Takeoff
Component
Aircraft Component	Nose Gear
Person 1
Function	Technician
Qualification	Maintenance Airframe
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural FAR Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

A mechanic was informed 36-hours after installing a nose landing gear (nlg) lower torque link on a crj-900; the aircraft had to return to field; due to a landing gear problem. The nlg lower torque link had been installed upside down.