A reconnaissance airplane almost crashed in April, endangering the lives of 27 airmen aboard the plane — all because a retaining nut connecting oxygen tubing was not tightened properly, accident investigators have determined. The report blamed a private defense contracting company for the accident.
“Failure by L-3 Communications depot maintenance personnel to tighten a retaining nut connecting a metal oxygen tube to a junction fitting above the galley properly caused an oxygen leak. This leak created a highly flammable oxygen-rich environment that ignited,” U.S. Air Force investigators wrote in report published August 3.
Investigators determined the ensuing fire caused $62.4 millon in damage to the plane.
L-3 Communications spokesman Bruce Rogowski declined comment and referred questions to the Air Force.
The plane, which was about to take off on a training mission from Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska on April 30, instead skidded to a stop on the runway. All 27 crew members made it off safely, The Omaha World-Herald reported.
The World-Herald first obtained the report through a Freedom of Information Act request.
A former pilot contacted by the paper estimated that had the plane taken off, all 27 crew members could have died in an ensuing crash.
“This event could have easily been that catastrophic, because of the intensity of the fire,” Robert Hopkins III told the paper. “Had they taken off, it could easily have been fatal.”