At least two dozen Air Force jets in at least five aircraft fleets were reportedly found to have problematic tail pins.
According to Military Times, the E-3 Sentry aerial target tracking plane, an airborne warning and control system plane, has become the latest to be inspected for subpar tail pins. Citing the Air Force’s Air Combat Command, the branch did not say how many parts would need to be replaced.
“The E-3 Systems Program Office, in conjunction with the ACC, issued a Immediate Action Time Compliance Technical Order (TCTO) on March 1, requiring all E-3 aircraft to have non-compliant vertical stabilizer pins. Directs investigation. Complete before next flight,” Air Force spokeswoman Capt. Laura Hayden told Fox News Digital in an email Friday.
He explained that all E-3 aircraft in the region have been inspected in accordance with TCTO and the Air Force continues to conduct operational and training missions.
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A US Air Force E-3 AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) lands at Nellis Air Force Base while participating in Joint Expeditionary Force Exercise 2006 on April 25, 2006 in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
“The Only the planes still need to be checked The depots are under maintenance and will be checked before leaving the depot facility,” Hayden added. “There have been no accidents as a result of the pins being adjusted.”
The fleet is spread across Tinker Air Force Base, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and Kadena Air Base in Japan.
This US Air Force handout photo shows an E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) in flight. (Joe Cupido/US Air Force/Getty Images)
The Air Force says NATO has 17 E-3As and supporting equipment.
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An E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system (AWACS) lands in Cold Lake, Canada on Nov. 11, 1997, in this U.S. Air Force handout photo. (Diane S. Robinson/US Air Force/Getty Images)
The publication notes the ship “Vertical Terminal Fitting Pin” The problem is; They help connect the tail wing to the rest of the fuselage, giving pilots control over the aircraft during turns.
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As of Valentine’s Day, Air Force Times previously reported, 24 of the 90 KC-135 Stratotankers that had been inspected had non-compliant pins.
