507 ARW

Staff Sgt. Sean Carter, a fuel systems technician with the 507th Maintenance Squadron, installs pressure plates on an empty fuel cell taken from a KC-135R center wing tank in order to check the cell for a possible leak Dec. 15, 2015, at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla. The KC-135 has six fuel cells in the center wing, four cells in the forward body, and five cells in the aft body, for a total of 16 fuel cells. The wings of the aircraft also hold fuel that is pumped directly into the wings, filling nearly the entire wing structure. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Lauren Gleason)

507 ARW

Staff Sgt. Sean Carter, left, and Tech. Sgt. Joshua Green, right, fuel systems technicians with the 507th Maintenance Squadron, install pressure plates on an empty fuel cell taken from a KC-135R center wing tank in order to check the cell for a possible leak Dec. 15, 2015, at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla. The removable fuel cells are made of nylon fabric that is in some instances less than 1/16 of an inch thick yet can hold seven tons of fuel. The KC-135R is capable of transferring more fuel in eight minutes than a gas station could pump in 24 hours. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Lauren Gleason)

Deployed operations made possible by home station fuel systems shop

Published Dec. 21, 2015
By Tech. Sgt. Lauren Gleason
507th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Deployed maintenance teams sometimes discover a problem so big that they must call on the help of their home station partners.

That's exactly what had to be done Dec. 6, when a deployed KC-135R Stratotanker with a major fuel leak returned from Southwest Asia to the 507th Maintenance Squadron here for repairs.

According to Master Sgt. Cameron Dinger, the 507th Maintenance Squadron fuel systems shop chief, members attempted to repair the fuel leak at the deployed location, but were unable to pinpoint the cause of the leak.

"Deployed members suspected that the center wing integral tank may have been leaking into the cell's cavity," said Dinger. "The aircraft was sent home because the equipment to test for a leak of that nature was not available on station while deployed."

Through careful coordination between the 507th Maintenance and Operations Groups and the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Group, the tanker crossed the globe and arrived back home.

"The return took several days because they had to isolate a large portion of the fuel system, preventing them from flying with more than a certain fuel load," said Maj. Melissa Jones, 507th MXS director of operations.

Members of the 507th MXS fuel systems shop removed the problematic fuel cell from the center wing and entered the center wing integral tank to inspect for damage that could be the cause of the leak.

"We removed the cell, and then isolated the cavity it was installed in and pressurized the center wing," said Dinger. "Pressurizing the center wing allowed us to enter the cavity and search for a leak from the integral tank into the cell area," said Dinger.

No leak was found in the integral tank itself, but the cause of the leak was discovered: A deep scratch was found in the sealing surface, leading to a slow leak of fuel. The team sanded out the scratch, leaving a smooth surface and ensuring an airtight seal.

The cell that originally was believed to be leaking was removed, pressurized and tested and no leak was found. This led the team to concur that the scratch found in the seal of the integral tank was indeed the issue.

Once all the components were reinstalled on the aircraft, all of the fuel systems were thoroughly tested and checked for functionality, said Dinger.

"Cases like these highlight the necessity for coordination between us and the units in the area of responsibility," said Jones. "It took a lot of coordination between our maintenance and operations team to safely fly the aircraft home and return it to a fully mission capable status." (Senior Airman Jeffery Dahlem contributed to this article.)