An Anonymous Email From An
Airline Mechanic - June 2006
For reasons you will understand as you read
this I can not divulge my identity.
I am an aircraft mechanic for a major airline. I work at one of our
maintenance bases located at a large airport. I have discovered some
information that I think you will find important.
First, I should tell you something about the "pecking order" among
mechanics. It is important to my story and to the cause to which you have
dedicated yourself.
Mechanics want to work on three things. The avionics, the engines, or the
flight controls. The mechanics that work on these systems are considered at
the top of the "pecking order".
Next come the mechanics that work on the hydraulics and air conditioning
systems. Then come the ones who work on the galley and other non-essential
systems. But at the very bottom of the list are the mechanics that work on
the waste disposal systems.
No mechanic wants to work on the pumps, tanks, and pipes that are used to
store the waste from the lavatories. But at every airport where I have
worked there are always 2 or 3 mechanics that volunteer to work on the
lavatory systems.
The other mechanics are happy to let them do it. Because of this you will
have only 2 or 3 mechanics that work on these systems at any one airport. No
one pays much attention to these guys and no mechanic socializes with
another mechanic who only works on the waste systems.
Fact is, I had never even thought much about this situation until last
month. Like most airlines we have reciprocal agreements with the other
airlines that fly into this airport. If they have a problem with a plane one
of our mechanics will take care of it.
Likewise, if one of our planes has a problem at an airport where the other
airline has a maintenance base, they will fix our plane.
One day last month I was called out from our base to work on a plane for
another airline. When I got the call the dispatcher did not know what the
problem was. When I got to the plane I found out that the problem was in
waste disposal system. There was nothing for me to do but to crawl in and
fix the problem.
When I got into the bay I realized that something was not right. There were
more tanks, pumps, and pipes then should have been there. At first I assumed
that the waste disposal system had been changed. It had been about 10 years
since I had worked on this particular model of aircraft.
As I tried to find the problem I quickly realized the extra piping and tanks
were not connected to the waste disposal system, at all. I had just
discovered this when another mechanic from my company showed up. It was one
of the mechanics who usually works on this particular type of plane, and I
happily turned the job over to him.
As I was leaving I asked him about the extra equipment. He told me to
"worry about my end of the plane and let him worry about his end!"
The next day I was on the company computer to look up a wiring schematic.
While I was there I decided to look up the extra equipment I had found. To
my amazement the manuals did not show any of the extra equipment I had seen
with my own eyes the day before. I even tied in to the manufacturer files
and still found nothing. Now I was really determined to find out what that
equipment did.
The next week we had three of our planes in our main hanger for periodic
inspection. There are mechanics crawling all over a plane during these
inspections. I had just finished my shift and I decided to have a look at
the waste system on one of our planes. With all the mechanics around I
figured that no one would notice an extra one on the plane.
Sure enough, the plane I choose had the extra equipment! I began to trace
the system of pipes, pumps, and tanks. I found what appeared to be the
control unit for the system. It was a standard looking avionics control box
but it had no markings of any kind.
I could trace the control wires from the box to the pumps and valves but
there were no control circuits coming into the unit. The only wires coming
into the unit was a power connection to the aircraft's main power bus.
The system had 1 large tank and 2 smaller tanks. It was hard to tell in the
cramped compartment, but it looked like the large tank could hold about 50
gallons. The tanks were connected to a fill and drain valve that passed
through the fuselage just behind the drain valve for the waste system.
When I had a chance to look for this connection under the plane I found it
cunningly hidden behind a panel under the panel used to access the waste
drain.
I began to trace the piping from the pumps. These pipes lead to a network of
small pipes that ended in the trailing edges of the wings and horizontal
stabilizers.
If you look closely at the wings of a large airplane you will see a set of
wires, about the size of your finger, extending from the trailing edge of
the wing surfaces. These are the static discharge wicks. They are used to
dissipate the static electric charge that builds up on a plane in flight.
I discovered that the pipes from this mystery system lead to every 1 out of
3 of these static discharge wicks. These wicks had been "hollowed
out" to allow whatever flows through these pipes to be discharged
through the fake wicks.
It was while I was on the wing that one of the managers spotted me. He
ordered me out of the hanger telling me that my shift was over and I had not
been authorized any overtime.
The next couple of days were very busy and I had no time to continue my
investigation. Late one afternoon, two days after my discovery, I was called
to replace an engine temperature sensor on a plane due to take off in two
hours. I finished the job and turned in the paperwork.
About 30 minutes later I was paged to see the General Manager. When I went
in his office I found that our union rep and two others who I did not know
were waiting on me. He told me that a serious problem had been discovered.
He said that I was being written up and suspended for turning in false
paperwork.
He handed me a disciplinary form stating that I had turned in false
paperwork on the engine temperature sensor I had installed a few hours
before. I was floored and began to protest. I told them that this was
ridiculous and that I had done this work.
The union rep spoke up at this point and recommended that we take a look at
the plane to see if we could straighten it all out. I then asked who the
other two men were. The GM told me that they were airline safety inspectors
but would not give me their names.
We proceeded to the plane, which should have been in the air but was parked
on our maintenance ramp. We opened the engine cowling and the union rep
pulled the sensor. He checked the serial number and told everyone that it
was the old instrument. We then went to the parts bay and went back into the
racks.
The union rep checked my report and pulled from the rack a sealed box. He
opened the box and pulled out the engine temperature sensor with the serial
number of the one I had installed. I was told that I was suspended for a
week without pay and to leave immediately.
I sat at home the first day of my suspension wondering what the hell had
happened to me. That evening I received a phone call. The voice told me
"Now you know what happens to mechanics who poke around in things they
shouldn't. The next time you start working on systems that are no concern of
yours you will lose your job! As it is, I'm feeling generous, I believe that
you'll be able to go back to work soon." CLICK.
Again, I had to pick myself from off the floor. As my mind raced, it was at
this moment that I made the connection that what had happened to me must
have been directly connected to my tracing the "mysterious"
piping.
The next morning the General Manager called me. He said that due to my past
excellent employment record that the suspension had been reduced to one day
and that I should report back to work immediately. The only thing I could
think of was "what are they trying to hide" and "who are
'THEY'"!
That day at work went by as if nothing had happened. None of the other
mechanics mentioned the suspension and my union rep told me not to talk
about it. That night I logged onto the Internet to try to find some answers.
I don't remember now how I got there but I came across a site that talked
about chemically-laced contrails.
That's when it all came together. But the next morning at work I found a
note inside my locked locker. It said, "Curiosity killed the cat. Don't
be looking at Internet sites that are no concern of yours."
Well that's it. Now I know 'THEY' are watching me.
While I don't know what THEY are spraying, I can tell you how they are doing
it. I figure they are using the "honey trucks". These are the
trucks that empty the waste from the lavatory waste tanks.
The airports usually contract out this job and nobody goes near these
trucks. Who wants to stand next a truck full of sh--. While these guys are
emptying the waste tanks, it makes sense that they could easily be filling
the tanks of the spray system.
They know the planes flight path so they probably program the control unit
to start spraying some amount of time after the plane reaches a certain
altitude. The spray nozzles in the fake static wicks are so small that no
one in the plane would see a thing.
God help us all.
-- A concerned citizen
