steve2267 wrote:It was unclear from the twittering aerospace aviation reporters whether the engine will have to be pulled to inspect and possibly replace these two other fuel tubes. One tweet said the engines had to be pulled. Another tweet referred to a web "article" that stated the engines did not have to be pulled. As pulling an F135 and replacing is a 5-7 hour process... that is no small task.
What is a fuel "tube" anyway? I know what a tube is. And I'm familiar with fuel "hoses"... but what is a tube? Is it the shunt to which is affixed a hose?
With all the recent announcements about "fuel tubes", the accident is beginning to sound like a fuel starvation incident, although a failure in a fueldraulic system, esp. during a Mode 4 STOVL transition would not be good.
From the article at the MCT link above -- “The procedure to inspect and replace can be done by flightline maintenance without removing the engine.”