Recently, we had one of our Herc experienced rudder damage. the details are as follows:
the crew ground aborted a mission due to utility hydraulic fluid leak from Rudder booster package. once the trouble shooting was carried out, crew discovered a crack in rudder booster package because of which, utility hyd system quantity was completely lost. Now the crew had to wait for the part to arrive, which took about two and a half days ( less then 72 hours....55 hrs from the occurrence, to be precise). after receiving the requisite component for replacement, they found Rudder stuck on one side with extensive damage to the support structure and pivots of rudder. now my question is that how could this damage occur ??? while the aircraft was parked on Tarmac, the weather for the period of parking didnot had winds more than 22-27 kts. Also, the Booster hydraulic reservoir didn't had any fluid loss. it is also worth mentioning that the Utility side rudder boost SOV was kept close due to dripping fluid from the boost package. Also what would happen if somebody put the Booster side SOV also closed for Rudder ( as it is known that these SOVs are fail safe open when electric power is removed from the aircraft )
Please any one can explain me the following concerns:-
1. Can a combination of utility hyd loss from rudder booster package and winds of 22-27 kts can flutter the rudder to experience heavy damage. is there enough hydraulic in system lines to provide adequate dampening for flight controls.
2. if Rudder Booster SOV was put off, can it have a discontinuity in priming of Hydraulic fluid in the lines for flight controls. (As i presume the SOVs for booster package are fail safe, so the valves will be open when power is lost)
this seems to be a lenghty query, but i will appreciate a satisfying answer from experience crews, as there no dearth of it in this forum....cause its someone's NECK (Ass) on line !!!!