One of the first things any mechanic learns when working for a local commuter airline is that the airplane always makes a scheduled flight. This then, more than anything else, would explain why the foreman felt sick all over as a result of leaning up against the left propeller of a Beech 99. It was at the very end of an 11-to-7 shift when he idly pushed upward on the spinner while talking to one of the floor grunts. In shock and amazement, he found no less than two inches of up and down play at the spinner. Obviously, the top-center engine mount on the sagging Pratt & Whitney turboprop had deteriorated-if not completely failed. And the airplane was due on the flight line in 45 minutes.
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