The curious case of Tail 0533

Tech. Sgt. Dwayne Seagle, 15th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron electrician, stands with Tail 0533, a C-17 Globemaster III that was grounded for 45 days due to a major discrepancy at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Dec. 16. Sergeant Seagle led the "Tiger team," a team assembled with the sole focus of getting Tail 0533, a plane 15 years older than every other 15th Wing C-17, back in the air. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Airman 1st Class Lauren Main)

Photo Details / Download Hi-Res

The curious case of Tail 0533

Published Dec. 17, 2010
By Staff Sgt. Nathan Allen
15th Wing Public Affairs

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii -- Tech. Sgt. Dwayne Seagle isn't prone to work-related highs and lows. However, even this Rubik's Cube of a maintenance conundrum began to take a toll on Sergeant Seagle and the rest of the 15th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron's "Tiger" team. It must have been hard Tail 0533 as well, bathing in the warm Hawaiian sun, one of the 15th Wing's C-17 Globemaster IIIs waiting patiently for the day it could take to the skies once again.

In the eyes of both a maintainer and an airplane, 45 days is way too long for an aircraft to be non-flyable, said Seagle.

"It ruined my October," said Seagle of the problems caused by Tail 0533, the oldest plane on the wing's flightline here. While the layman may never know it, Tail 0533 is unique from the other eight planes in the 15th WG's fleet. Eight of the nine C-17s the wing employs are five years old. Tail 0533 is four times that age, easily distinguishing itself as the veteran of the group. However, like many aging athletes could testify, the wisdom that comes with experience is often trumped by subsequent wear and tear.

The other significant difference that distinguishes Tail 0533 is its origins. In an attempt to better meet the high operations tempo involved in being located at the hub of the Pacific theater, the 15th MXG adopted Tail 0533 from Joint Base McChord-Lewis, Wash. in March. Even then, Tail 0533 had a distinct look about it. The floors were covered in dust, and the plane looked as though it had just come from the desert, said Seagle. Ironic, considering that's precisely where it couldn't go. During a sortie, a pilot noticed a high-pitched squeal coming from one of the cockpit windows. Upon landing, the pilot recorded the discrepancy for the maintainers to review. The diagnosis given by the 15th MXG maintainers was that tail 0533 had air leaks at several points within the cockpit and cabin. While this may seem like a benign problem when cruising in a car on the highway, the stakes are significantly higher when cruising 20,000 feet off the ground. Within each C-17 are two air conditioner packs that work to keep a plane's cabin pressure within a specific range. If one goes out while in flight, the other can still maintain a safe cabin pressure. However, as was the case with Tail 0533, if a plane with air leaks was to take off with only one operational air conditioner pack, a catastrophic accident, in which oxygen masks would deploy, could occur if the final pack malfunctioned.

Tail 0533 could still fly -- just not very far. Col. Mike Novotny, the 15th MXG commander, had a tough decision to make. The plane could still fly short, local sorties and help support the wing's need to perform the mission, train new aircrews, and keep planes properly maintained; or, it could temporarily take the plane out of the sky and make the time commitment required to fix it completely and correctly.

"It's part of our small fleet dynamics," said 2nd Lt. Ammon Hennessee, in reference to the challenging balance between flying planes and fixing them.

After consulting with various active duty C-17 specialists, Boeing contractors attached to the unit, and engineers from Boeing via the phone, it was determined that the 15th MXG had the skills required to properly repair Tail 0533. "Then fix it," Colonel Novotny said, very clearly and concisely. On Sept. 22, the process of diagnosing what ailed Tail 00533 began.

Due to his extensive knowledge of Tail 00533 and its history, Seagle was named leader of the "Tiger" team -- a four-man crew solely focused on getting Tail 00533 fixed and back in the air. Seagle, his day shift partner and their two night shift counterparts abandoned maintenance on all other airframes and took on 12-hour shifts for 13 straight days with one-to-two hour overlap between shifts, effectively stretching the shifts into more than 14 hours apiece. These shifts wear on even the sturdiest maintainers and the most understanding families, Seagle said.

"I tried to stay even keel even though it took a toll," he said. "I had time to go home, have dinner, help my kids with their homework, and maybe relax for a half hour before I had to go to bed and start all over again," Seagle said.

The attention Seagle had to sacrifice from his home life was given instead to Tail 0533 for these 13 days. The Tiger team's devotion to the aircraft, along with the help of active-duty and Air National Guard specialists from five different career fields, Boeing engineers, and civilian specialists, repaired Tail 0533 to the point that its condition rivaled the eight other C-17s here -- all of which are 15 years younger. It even got a touch ups to its paint job along with the clean bill of health it received Nov. 7. Since then, Tail 0533 has flown more than 10 sorties, including the support of Operation New Dawn and its current trip to Afghanistan to support Operation Enduring Freedom.

"It's maintenance -- things happen," said Seagle with a nonchalant smile of the challenges he overcame in getting Tail 0533 back in the air. Despite assembling a Tiger team that worked 12-14 hour shifts for 13 days in a row, and having minimal time at home to enjoy being a husband and father. Instead, he can only focus on the positive. After all, at least he got to focus on one plane exclusively instead of nine at a time for a little while.