Tried tracking down an air leak under the dash on a King Air and lost 6 hours to a loose hose clamp

Last month I was chasing a cabin pressure leak that kept showing up in the logbook, and I pulled half the interior apart before I found a clamp that was just barely loose behind the right sidewall. Took me a full shift to locate it because the leak only showed at altitude and I couldn't replicate it on the ground. Has anyone else spent way too long hunting a simple leak that turned out to be something dumb like a clamp or a seal?

2 comments

2 Comments

carr.willow2d ago

Nah, I actually think a lot of those "elusive" leaks are just people not doing a proper soap test first time around. A clamp that's barely loose shouldn't take 6 hours if you're systematic about it.

spencer_johnson222d ago

Man, hard disagree on that take. Soap test is great but some of those King Air leaks only show up under actual pressure differential at altitude, plain ground test won't find them. Six hours sounds rough but not crazy for a gremlin that hides until you're climbing through ten thousand feet.