Flybondi 737-800, LV-HQY, flew from Iguazu (IGR) where it experienced a tailstrike on 16Jul18, to the Escuela de Aviacion Militar (Miltary Aviation School) Airfield in Cordoba on 29Aug18 to have its rear fuselage repaired.
The work was to be undertaken at the FADEA (Fábrica Argentina de Aviones) hangar by the "Boeing AOG Team" (AOG = Aircraft-on-Ground), a group of 25 technicians led by Michael Barnes of the American manufacturer, with the repairs scheduled to take fifteen days to complete.
The AOG Team is capable of carrying out repairs just about anywhere, including remote locations that have no supplies or infrastructure to speak of. The team often takes along its own support engineers, tools, materials, supplies, generators, fuel and even food and water (!) for a completely self-sufficient operation. They generally work 24/7 in twelve hour shifts, even on Saturdays and Sundays. In the case of the repair of LV-HQY, many of the necessary items, including heavy machinery, were presumably provided by the FADEA, lightening the load for the trip from the US.
LV-HQY returned to service with Flybondi on 07Oct18 and was withdrawn from use at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic "quarantine" in Argentina on 19Mar20, going on to storage at the Pinal County Airpark (MZJ) in Arizona, USA on 09Jul20.
Sources:
"Gabriel"
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