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Maintenance team transports HH-60 for phase inspection

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Nancy Hooks
  • 451st Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan --  Members of the helicopter maintenance unit assigned to the 451st Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Kandahar Airfield began the teardown process of an HH-60G Pave Hawk on the rescue squadron helicopter pad May 18.

The helicopter is being shipped to another location for routine scheduled maintenance.

"Typically, these helicopters require thorough, preventive maintenance every 600 hours," said 1st Lt. Jonathon Schulz, helicopter maintenance unit officer in charge.

This one will travel to its destination aboard a C-17 Globemaster III.

"This specific helicopter was originally sent here for Operation Moshtarak," said Lieutenant Schultz, referring to the spring offensive in and around Marja, in Helmand province. "It has 60 hours left before its 600-hour phase inspection."

To get the aircraft to its destination, the request for airlift was setup by the maintenance unit. Once they received a tentative date, the teardown process began.

The Pave Hawk is equipped with folding rotor blades and a tail stabilizer for shipboard operations and to ease air transportability. Three Airmen stood on top of the aircraft to remove the main rotor blade retaining pin while six other Airmen folded the blades.

The process took about an hour to complete. The next step was removing all the fuel from the aircraft.

"Usually the HH-60G weighs approximately 20,000 pounds and can hold up to 2,400 pounds of fuel. The fuel tank on this one had between 600 and 1,800 pounds remaining inside," said Master Sgt. Jon Nehl, production superintendent, 451st EAMXS.

The helicopter was ready for shipment in one working day.

"Everyone chips in whenever they can. This was a 100 percent team effort," said Lieutenant Schulz.

Collectively, crew chiefs and specialists in the electric systems, communication navigation, guidance and control, and hydraulics career fields assisted in preparing the helicopter for its journey.

The folded Pave Hawk was placed on board a C-17 on May 25.Once they reached the aircraft, they rotated the helicopter, placing it nose first into the aircraft.

Staff Sgt. Jesse Kessler, a loadmaster assigned to the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron helped hook up a line from inside the C-17 to the nose of the helicopter, to secure it firmly.

"The importance of this mission is to slow down hours on the phase system. We stagger the phase inspections so that all the aircrafts don't go out at once," says Tech. Sgt. Erin Jacobs, electrical systems craftsman, 451st EAMXS.

Maintaining the HH-60 helicopter is rewarding, said Sergeant Jacobs.

"I enjoy doing this job, working on these helicopters. It makes me happy that when they leave for a mission, they will save somebody."

The helicopter maintenance unit is normally divided into two teams. First-up responders are the first responders who scramble when notified. They rush out to the Pave Hawk and prepare the helicopter for take-off. The second-up responders are the back-up to the first responders. If the first up responders are out on a call or cannot launch, the second responders scramble.