My borescope cable snapped mid-inspection on a Cessna 172 yesterday

Was doing a routine cylinder check on a 172 at the FBO in Tucson and right as I got the scope into the #3 cylinder, the cable just gave out inside the sleeve. I had to fish out a 2-foot piece of frayed cable from the intake valve area with a magnet and a prayer. Has anyone else had a borescope fail on them like this, or am I just unlucky with this cheap scope I got off Amazon?

3 comments

3 Comments

amyh1215d ago

Feel for you man. @zara_sanchez is right though, gotta know your tool.

simon_carr15d ago

Why not just buy quality tools if you're inspecting critical engine parts?

zara_sanchez15d ago

72 series cylinder heads I've seen fail from a cheap 6-inch scale being off by .003 at the ends. A buddy of mine had a valve seat drop because his digital caliper read .0005 different at the back of the jaw versus the front. So it's not always about buying the most expensive stuff, it's about knowing what your tool is actually doing when you're measuring something real. I keep a set of gauge blocks in my box just to check my calipers before I start, saved my butt more than once. You can spend good money on a tool and still get bit if you don't verify it first.