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In article , Guy Alcala
wrote:

That latter part was totally avoidable. I don't know why there wasn't a
crew chief there to tell the firefighters to lift the canopy off to the
side, rather than set it down on the airplane.

Photos are available in the current AvLeak. The firefighters taped a
rectangular area on the top of the canopy extending down the sides, then sawed
through the tape. According to AvLeak the canopy cost is $186,000; there was
no mention of any damage to skin covering in the article, but it undoubtedly
went to press Friday or so.

I saw the PowerPoint slides. When they picked up the canopy, they then set
it down on the fuselage, where it slid a bit. It appeared to have actually
scratched the material, not simply the paint. I could easily see how a
piece of radar absorbing material that was part of the structure might have
to be replaced and might cost $1 million. What I don't understand is why
nobody told the firemen to take the canopy off to the side. This was not a
life threatening situation, it was a maintenance issue.

(Presumably the pilot had enough oxygen, although I don't know how they
would have gotten it to him. But once they made the initial cut in the
canopy they could blow in air.)


D