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Before loading, Mack and I checked the assembly of the valve cap on all sondes to be loaded and found a few to be too lose. In these, the cap would open on small impacts, such a reasonably firm tap or a sonde dropping into the launcher. This could explain some of the launch issues we have had where the parachute had opened during loading or inside the launch tube. We rejected about 3-4 sondes of those had been planning to launch.
During the Caribbean leg, multiple instrument issues on the aircraft occurred. The indicated air speed sensors for the pilots failed, which forced them to return to base. This was slowed down by bad weather around which they had to navigate with confusing indicators, causing a delay of about an hour. On the clear air leg back, the yaw stabilizer failed, causing the aircraft to fishtail for some time. The pilots had declared an emergency landing due to some critical instruments failing. Fortunately, the landing approach and landing were smooth and without further incident.
