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Saw a cracked engine mount on a Cessna 172 at the Gillespie Field ramp and it got me thinking
I was walking the ramp at Gillespie Field in San Diego last Tuesday and spotted a 172 with a visible crack in the engine mount tubing near the lower left attach point. The owner said it passed annual just 4 months ago, which makes me wonder how it got missed. Do you guys do a full dye penetrant check on mounts at every annual, or only when you see something suspect?
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laura_lane25d ago
Ran into the same thing on a 172N a few years back, crack right at the lower left attach point too, and it had been signed off twice before anyone caught it. What worked for me was pulling the cowl and really cleaning the mount tubes with mineral spirits first, because grime hides those hairline cracks. Then I hit the suspect areas with dye penetrant and let it sit the full dwell time, no rushing it, and that crack showed up clear as day. Now I do the full penetrant check at every annual instead of waiting for something to look off, takes maybe 30 extra minutes but its worth it.
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