Blew a hydraulic line on a 737 yesterday and it was my own dumb fault

Was doing a routine brake change on a 737-800 at the hangar in Phoenix around 2pm. I got in a hurry and forgot to properly relieve the pressure in the system before cracking the line. Got sprayed with skydrol all down my arm (thankfully I had goggles on) and made a huge mess on the floor. Took me an extra hour to clean up and re-bleed the whole system. Anyone else ever had a moment where rushing cost you way more time than just doing it slow the first time?

3 comments

3 Comments

nancyw9716d ago

Oh I gotta push back on that a little. Rushing is how you get things done in this industry, especially at 2pm in Phoenix when the hangar floor feels like a pizza oven. If you took your sweet time on every job you'd never get your shift finished. That skydrol bath is a rite of passage, not a mistake. You learned where that pressure lives and next time you'll crack it faster because you already know the mess is coming.

adam_adams16d ago

Man, a buddy of mine did something similar rushing a tire change. He sheared a valve stem and grounded the plane for four hours waiting on parts. That hurry-up cost him his whole afternoon.

butler.finley4d ago

...and honestly, is it really that serious? Skydrol burns suck, sure, but you had goggles on, you didn't hit your eyes. That's the real danger. Floor's gonna get cleaned anyway, bleed's part of the job. I've seen guys snap off bleed valves on a 320 because they torqued it like a lugnuts while rushing, that's a real problem that costs parts and a write-up. A little hydraulic bath and a slow cleanup? That's Tuesday. You didn't hurt anyone, didn't break anything expensive, just gave yourself a gross afternoon. I think the rite of passage crowd has a point, honestly.