N68
Registered owner: FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, OK (owner ≠ operator)
Operators of this aircraft
Who operated this tail, and how firmly we know it.
| Operator | Role | Period | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flight Program Operations (RU3A) | Certificate holder | — | Matched by certificate designator |
Accident & incident history
No NTSB accidents or incidents on file for this aircraft.
Maintenance disclosures
Service Difficulty Reports filed with the FAA for this airframe. Filing is largely voluntary — the number of reports is not a measure of reliability. To verify a report, search its control number at the FAA SDRS site.
10 reports on file, 2002-01-03 – 2020-05-04.
Part: WARNING SYSTEM — ACTIVATED (COCKPIT) · airframe 13,509 hrs · 7,607 cycles
RED "TRIM" ANNUNCIATOR ILLUMINATED ON MFD'S AND AUTOPILOT WOULD NOT ENGAGE.
Part: CONTROL HANDLE — DEFECTIVE (COCKPIT) · airframe 13,387 hrs · 7,552 cycles
FOLLOWING LOW APPROACH RAISED GEAR HANDLE. GEAR INDICATIONS REMAINED 3 GREEN AND NO LIGHT IN THE HANDLE. LOWERED GEAR HANDLE AND RECOVERED WITH GEAR DOWN. RELAY CB NOT POPPED. HYD TEST OK. MX FOUND DEFECTIVE GEAR CONTROL HANDLE.
Part: OVERHEAT SENSOR — FAILED (RT ENGINE) · airframe 13,343 hrs · 7,531 cycles
RIGHT ENGINE FIRE EXTINGUISH DISCHARGE LIGHT ILLUMINATED. DISCOVERED RH ENGINE FIRE/OVERHEAT DETECTOR WAS DEFECTIVE. REPLACED DETECTOR
Part: PANEL — DAMAGED (FUSELAGE) · airframe 13,079 hrs · 7,868 cycles
MAJOR REPAIR ENGINEERING ORDER (EO),18-28-45 CENTER WING SKIN FILLET PANEL FASTENER HOLE REPAIR, TO REPAIR DAMAGED/ELONGATED FASTENER HOLES NEAR THE LEADING EDGE OF THE CENTER WING SKIN. THIS EO ALSO PROVIDES INSTRUCTIONS TO FABRICATE A REPLACEMENT WING-TO FUSELAGE FILLET PANEL. P/N 182845-1
Part: STRINGER — DAMAGED (BS 285-291) · airframe 13,079 hrs · 7,368 cycles
DAMAGE FOUND ON STRINGERS 15R AND 16R ADJACENT TO AFT TACAN ANTENNA. PERFORMED MAJOR REPAIR EO. BE-18-28-14 R1, FLUSH FLIGHT INSPECTION TACAN ANTENNA INSTALLATION REPAIR.
Part: CONNECTOR — DAMAGED (FIRE BOTTLE) · airframe 12,604 hrs · 7,140 cycles
RIGHT SIDE FIRE BOTTLE DISCHARGE LIGHT ILLUMINATED AFTER TAKE OFF. CHANGING THE ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR ON THE RT FIRE BOTTLE SOLVED THE ISSUE. NO FURTHER ACTION REQUIRED
Part: UNKNOWN — MALFUNCTIONED (LANDING GEAR) · airframe 10,741 hrs · 6,167 cycles
AFTER PLACING GEAR HANDLE DOWN, LANDING GEAR FAILED TO EXTEND NORMALLY. LANDING GEAR RELAY CIRCUIT BREAKER WAS TRIPPED. LANDING GEAR EXTENSION WAS PERFORMED MANUALLY. AN EMERGENCY WAS DECLARED AS A PRECAUTION FOR LANDING.
Part: ADAPTER — MISALIGNED (RUDDER SERVO) · airframe 10,700 hrs · 6,141 cycles
DURING INSPECTION FOUND RUDDER SERVO BRIDAL TOP CABLE MISALIGNED COMING OFF RUDDER SERVO CAPSTAN PULLEY. THIS PROLONGED CONDITION WILL CAUSE THE PULLEY AND CABLE TO WEAR PREMATURELY. PRELIMINARY EO IS IN DRAFT PROVIDING INSTRUCTIONS FOR REMOVING EXISTING SERVO ADAPTER FROM RUDDER SERVO AND REPLACING WITH RUDDER SERVO ADAPTER SHIM TO IMPROVE ALIGNMENT OF SERVO SPOOL IN RELATION TO SERVO CONTROL CABLES.
Part: PIN — BROKEN (FWD DOOR HOOK)
AFTER LEVELING OFF AT 18,000 FT, HEAR A LOUD THUMP FOLLOWED BY ILLUMINATION OF RED CABIN DOOR LIGHT. COMPLETED EMERGENCY CHECKLIST. PRESSURIZATION REMAINED AT 6.0 PSID. REQUESTED DESCENT AND RETURN. REMAINDER OF FLIGHT UNEVENTFUL. FOUND PIN BROKEN IN FORWARD UPPER DOOR HOOK.
Part: COMPUTER — BURNED (COCKPIT)
SMOKE ACCOMPANIED BY ACRID FUMES, WAS DETECTED IN THE AIRCRAFT CABIN, MISSION POWER CIRCUIT BREAKER SWITCH ON GENERATOR CONTROL PANEL WAS USED TO TURN OFF POWER. CREW DONNED OXYGEN MASKS, CABIN WAS DEPRESSURIZED AND AIRCRAFT LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. WHILE TROUBLESHOOTING KEYBOARD AT TECH POSITION WAS FOUND TO HAVE INTERNAL HEAT DAMAGE AND EMITTED SMOKE.