Photo By Senior Airman Abby Richardson | The End of Runway team completes an inspection on an F-15E Strike Eagle at Royal Air...... read more read more
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ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England – Keeping 48th Fighter Wing F-15s in safe, operational condition takes teamwork and a lot of safety checks.
As the last team to inspect each aircraft before launch and the first to see them on their return, the End of Runway crews plays an integral role in keeping the Liberty Wing’s planes airborne.
Comprised of two crew chiefs, two weapons load crew Airmen and one overall supervisor, each team diligently checks every aircraft and its weapons moments before takeoff and immediately after landing.
"At the arm end,” said the EOR supervisor, “we are the absolute last people to see the jet. We also pull the pins, making all of the weapons systems capable of being used.”
Barring any issues, the entire process typically only takes a few minutes.
During the inspection at the EOR, problems can appear that weren’t readily apparent to maintenance crews earlier. If issues are discovered during the final check, the F-15 can be sent back for repairs.
After the flight, each aircraft goes through a similar process once again at the EOR.
"We're putting those pins back in [the weapons] to make it ground safe to go back to chalks,” said the EOR supervisor. “But we're also doing a cursory inspection for bird strikes, damage or anything that may have fallen off of the jet in flight."
If any problems are found, the EOR team communicates with the asset-owning unit.
“If a jet comes to de-arm and it's got a leak, issue or problem, I'll typically call the aircraft maintenance unit and say, 'hey, you guys need to get eyes on this before it goes up again,'" the EOR team chief said.
Making sure the aircraft are all safe and ready to go isn’t just the job of the EOR.
"It's all a team [effort],” said the EOR supervisor. “It's the aircraft maintenance units getting the jets ready. It's the pilots in the briefings learning what they're going to do [in the air]. It’s air traffic control making sure the airspace is ready. It’s airfield management sweeping the runways making sure they're clean. And it's us taking care of the EOR pad, making sure we're set up and ready to ensure that every airplane is flight worthy."
Together, these offices and units make sure Liberty Wing F-15s are ready to do whatever mission is required of them.
| Date Taken: | 12.18.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 12.18.2017 09:58 |
| Story ID: | 259273 |
| Location: | BRANDON, GB |
| Web Views: | 101 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Last line of defense in F-15 safety, by SrA Abby Richardson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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