Flying Gold Plated Pig/Osprey Grounded--Loose Steering bolts

My favorite flying gold turd, the V-22 Osprey, has been grounded. What a shock! This time the bolts to the gold chopper's steering came loose. Geez. This are the bolts that allow the pilot to steer. They vibrated loose. Bear in mind this is not your 58 Ford pick up with the tendency to drop the top starter bolt every thousand miles. Got so my hearing got so sensitive I could hear the bolts back off at every start up. These Osprey bolts back off in flight and youre in a world of hurt. The pilot noticed the vibration and heard a loud noise. Military Times

An inspection revealed that four loose bolts had separated from a stationary swashplate trunnion and a gimbal ring on the drive tube, causing “minor damage” to the engine’s pitch links and spinner support, he said. The swashplate has a rotating and stationary plate, and translates a pilot’s commands to the rotors in motion.

“If this thing comes apart, then you lose control of the prop rotor,” said Welding, who declined to categorize the incident as a “near-miss.”

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