Crunch! Greyhawk meets Hawkeye.

It was a typical Monday morning for the line division after the daily FOD walkdown and maintenance meeting. We were called to move a C-2A Greyhawk aircraft out of the hangar onto the flight line, which is a routine job the line usually performs without a hitch. Today, though, wasn't going to be routine.

We gathered the team in the hangar bay and identified the two biggest hazards: some ground-support equipment to one side and a parked E-2C Hawkeye on the other side. The PC then described to the tow-tractor driver how we would back the aircraft out of the hangar and turn it around to head out to the line. I was the safety observer.

The team took their positions, and we started backing the aircraft out of the hangar between the GSE and the parked E-2. We started to pull the aircraft forward in a hard right turn to clear the GSE that now was in front of us. As the aircraft started turning, my attention was drawn away from the move by the flight-line coordinator, who was asking me about the availability of the GSE equipment for the day's flight schedule. The aircraft was moving forward, and it was clear the nose would clear the GSE, but the tail was too close to the parked E-2 outside of the hangar. A collision was imminent.

The flight-line coordinator and I immediately yelled out to the tail walker to blow the whistle and stop the move, but the noise from some nearby flight line reconstruction, coupled with the turning aircraft, prevented the PC from hearing the whistle. As the aircraft continued to move, I blew my whistle, and, after what seemed like hours, the aircraft finally stopped.

The damage was already done: the C-2's port wing-tip and rudder had hit the parked E-2's propeller.

This mistake reminded us of the importance of situational awareness and drove home the message that no job is routine. Just a momentary attention lapse cost the squadron two valuable assets and 24 man-hours of unscheduled maintenance. I got a harsh reminder that a lax attitude during a routine job can ruin the day.

AMC(AW) Alfonso Oliver, Line LCPO, VAW-120