Microwave in the avionics bay almost ruined my Friday

I was swapping out a radio in a King Air over at KAPA last Tuesday. Pulled the rack and found some guy's leftover microwave burrito wrapper stuffed behind the tray, totally blocking the fan intake. Plane had been running hot for weeks according to the logs. I got the radio in, cleaned the mess, and temps dropped 15 degrees on the next ground test. Anyone else find random junk like this in tight spots?

2 comments

2 Comments

ray1899d agoTop Commenter

Leftover microwave burrito wrapper" is exactly the kind of thing I'd expect to find in a King Air. Reminds me of the time I pulled the panel under the pilot seat in a Cessna 340 and found a half-eaten bag of chips and a 1998 Denver Broncos schedule that was all folded up. Plane was flying just fine, but the logs showed the right engine was running lean. Turned out the previous guy had stuffed a rag in the intake to keep dust out and forgot about it. Cleaning it out solved the issue. People leave the weirdest stuff in those nooks and crannies.

kimreed9d agoMost Upvoted

Sounds like you found someone's snack stash and an engine problem. Been there @ray189.