The cold snap here at in December affected a lot of things batteries, heating costs, water pipes and the fuel bladders on KC-135R Stratotankers. Fuel leaks are typical this time of year, Sward explained.
Aircraft moving in and out of heated hangars, to the extreme cold, strains the fuel systems.
The past few winters have been relatively mild, but this winter has been colder and the fuel leaks, in general, have gone up. Add to that we ve had no reprieve in the cold weather. It got cold and stayed cold, said Senior Master Sgt. While fuel leaks are to be expected during cold weather periods, having eight 434 th Air Refueling Wing aircraft develop leaks at the same time tested the mettle of maintenance personnel. Already hampered by the holidays and personnel on leave, the maintenance folks called in fuel cell augmentees to help repair the aircraft as quickly as possible.