The NTSB states the crash was the result of the operator’s “improper reuse of a degraded self-locking nut in the servo control input rod and the improper or non-use of a split pin to secure the degraded nut, in addition to an inadequate post-maintenance inspection. Contributing to the improper (or lack of) split pin installation was the mechanic’s fatigue and lack of clearly delineated steps to follow on a ‘work card’ or ‘checklist.’ The inspector’s fatigue and lack of a work card or checklist clearly laying out the inspection steps to follow contributed to an inadequate post-maintenance inspection.”

There are several disturbing parts in this statement. First and foremost, of course, is the loss of life caused by human error. Secondly, the two statements that come from basic hardware and maintenance training at every A&P school in the country: A fiber lock nut is never to be reused. It loses its properties to stay locked when reusing it. It was also castellated, so a cotter pin is used as a secondary method to secure it. How is that forgotten? Fatigue was definitely an issue, as these were obvious errors.

“This investigation is a potent reminder that what happens in the maintenance hangar is just as important for safety as what happens in the air,” said NTSB Chairman Deborah A. P. Hersman.

This is an understatement. If you need a reminder of this, please do not fly! Whether you realize it or not, you trust your maintenance professional with your life and the lives of your loved ones. The majority of maintenance professionals know this as well, which is why I would like to ask management some questions that the NTSB didn’t.

Why was a castellated fiber lock nut reused? For efficiency in getting the job done because of pressure that it must fly? Because a castellated fiber lock nut for this installation is expensive? They did not have a new nut in inventory? These questions are not entirely the mechanic’s fault based on the answers we do not have. It could be a work environment set up by the company, down to the managers and supervisors and flows out to the employee. Those of us who have been around a while have heard these stories. It is unacceptable on two parts.

As an aviation maintenance professional, it needed to be recognized that the aircraft was grounded until a new nut was available, if it wasn’t — no matter the cost. The aircraft should have been grounded. Secondly, the possible work environment that sets up this scenario is unacceptable. The lack of understanding of fatigue on all parts, management and technician, needed to be addressed. Ask your shop how this is addressed. If the work environment was possibly an unsafe one based on standard procedures set by management, the technicians should address it no matter what the cost, even job loss, as the costs mentioned here do not even come close to the costs of the loss of life in a crash.

As aviation maintenance professionals we do not need to be reminded that what happens in the maintenance hangar is as important for safety as what happens in the air. In the last decade maintenance-related fatalities were 5% of all fatal accidents. Still too high, which is why we work on it continually.

One thing that may help is the realization by everyone else in our industry, including management, that what happens in the maintenance hangar is important to safety. Step back and look at the work environment.

For more information: PAMA.org

As a not-for-profit organization by and for aviation maintenance professionals, PAMA relies on the knowledge and support of its members. Serving on the board of directors gives members the opportunity to directly impact the direction and operations of the only non-profit association serving all aviation maintenance professionals.

The following positions are open for nominations in this election cycle:

Board (2-year term): Treasurer; Director

Regional Directors (1 Year Term): Alaska Regional Director; Central Regional Director; Eastern/New England Regional Director; Great Lakes Regional Director; NW Mountain Regional Director; Southern Regional Director; Southwestern Regional Director; and Western Regional Director.

Information on the responsibilities associated with each position is available at PAMA.org/Nominations.

We are asking for interested parties to contact us for an opportunity to speak to our audience in the areas of new technologies, fatigue, human factors, SMS, customer service, sales, and management, to name a few. It is not closed to these areas.

Please contact PAMA directly at 800-356-1671 or info@pama.org.

Aviation Workforce Development would be a catalyst to oversee a national incentive to reach into middle and high school programs with a curriculum that will be fully assessed for effectiveness and function.

Industry feedback and oversight is needed to ensure this new initiative would “change the numbers” for those entering aviation/aerospace career tracks.

Those onboard so far with a seat at the table include: Dr. Tara Harl and the board of directors for Aviation Workforce Development; Mark Albert, Boeing’s director of training and development; officials from Jeppesen; Mitch Kilian, director of government affairs for the Metropolitan Airports Commission in Minneapolis; Trish Gilbert, vice president, National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA); Ed Bolen, president, National Aviation Business Association (NBAA); PAMA President Dale Forton; Derrin Groubel, director of flight training, United Airlines; Craig Fuller, president, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA); and Sarah MacLeod, executive director ARSA.

Officials from the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) and the Aviation Technician Education Council (ATEC) have expressed interest as well.

For more information:  AviationWorkforceDevelopment.org

Back in May 2010, the FAA released a legal interpretation meant to clarify rest provisions for aviation maintenance technicians, concluding that the rule required one day off out of every seven days. In December 2010, the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA) filed a complaint, prompting a reevaluation of the interpretation and a request by the FAA for comments. PAMA, along with ARSA, and the Transport Workers of America, submitted comments. In late December, the FAA reversed its stance, acknowledging, “The requirement for equivalency lies in the amount of rest given, not in the way the schedule itself operates or is developed.”

At PAMA, we believe that only looking at days worked totally misses the mark when it comes to fatigue. There are numerous factors that must be considered as a whole to have a viable fatigue prevention system.

Some of the issues concern hours worked in a day. A technician might work three days in a row of 16 hours each and become fatigued way before a six-day work week ever becomes an issue. Also, a technician who normally works until midnight might become fatigued after only two hours of overtime due to working past the time he would normally go to sleep.

Additionally, what the person is doing while off duty can play a large role in the ability to perform their duties safely. A technician who works nights could easily spend their day cutting down trees or cultivating a garden. Many of these tasks are more labor intensive than actual aircraft maintenance.

These thoughts were put together by a group of individuals who serve on PAMA’s Technical Committee. All are A&Ps with more than 20 years each in the field. Several have DME, DAR, DER, and IA behind their names. They are from diverse backgrounds in corporate aviation, general aviation, and the airlines, plus manufacturing.

The comments didn’t come out of a vacuum, which is the best thing I see from this committee. They know and have experienced a lot, plus they research it within their own business environments. I hold them in high esteem and greatly appreciate all they do for PAMA members.

More information can be found at PAMA.org/node/15599.

Ever since PAMA was asked NOT to hold its annual symposium as a part of the industry trade show (AS3) we helped found with the National Aviation Trades Association (NATA), PAMA has wanted a national event back. Aviation Maintenance Magazine has offered us a tremendous opportunity to jump back in with a bang.

Last year Aviation Maintenance Magazine hosted its first event with the support of the Modification and Replacement Parts Association (MARPA) covering the opportunities that PAMA has to offer outside the US. Under the new umbrella AVM Summit, a second track covering MRO Technology was introduced this year.

The aviation/aerospace industry is facing the “perfect storm” of 21st century leadership development issues: Large retirements of the baby-boomer generation, changing U.S. demographics, and the rising demands of the world economy, politics, and technology. Fundamentally, this means not enough well qualified and trained and certified personnel to meet demand. The industry cannot afford to raise the risk factor by not having a plan to alleviate the stress. The pressing question: What must be done and by whom?

The United States aviation and aerospace industries must act now to head off finding their leadership position on the world stage diminished. As older workers move toward retirement or into different areas, new workers search to develop their careers, and incumbent populations hope to regain employment.

The objective of the Think Tank initiative is to bring a small group of key aviation/aerospace industry leaders literally around a table to roll up their sleeves, address this looming crisis, bring real-time action items to the agenda, create measurements with tracking/reporting to monitor and follow through to tackle this daunting issue.

• Create a “neutral, competent” organizer — Aviation Workforce Development (AWD) — as the center of excellence and competence to keep track of and continuously press on all parts of the industry and academia to work on this problem.

• AWD would be that catalyst to oversee a national incentive to reach into middle and high school programs with a curriculum that will be fully assessed for effectiveness and function.

• Industry feedback and oversight needed to ensure this new initiative would “change the numbers” for those entering aviation/aerospace career tracks.

Those onboard so far with a seat at the table:

• AWD Dr. Tara Harl & Board of Directors
• Boeing Mark Albert, Director Training & Development
• Jeppesen (to be announced first of year 2013)
• MAC Mitch Kilian-Director Government Affairs
• NATCA Vice President, Trish Gilbert
• NBAA President, Ed Bolen
• PAMA President, Dale Forton
• United Airlines Director of Flight Training, Derrin Groubel
• AOPA President Craig Fuller

For more information: AviationWorkforceDevelopment.org

Dale Forton is president of the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA). Find out more about PAMA at PAMA.org

A major part that will affect general aviation is the potential that the rewrite will require certification of the repair station to be model specific. An example would be the Cessna or Piper product line, I.e, 170, 172, 150, 152, 210, PA140, PA46, PA31, and J-3, to name a very small fraction of the specific models. A repair station would need to acquire a rating based on each model. A small repair station, which has been a Piper or Cessna Service Center, would need to acquire more than 300 of these new certifications.

Who is going to handle all of this work at the FAA of researching the capabilities lists submitted by the repair stations for each model? Then approving them? Who is going to pay for this work at the repair station end? That is an easy answer: The owner operator will, in higher labor rates.

Or here is another possibility: A&Ps can still work on your aircraft. To make it easier, repair stations may just dissolve and leave the individual A&Ps to sign off their own work. That’s fine, you say, as that’s what my guy does now. Well many of us like the security of liability insurance when working on aircraft.

So maybe we then leave this career to work on roller coasters, wind turbines, or many of the other industries scooping up A&Ps. Either way the same thing happens: The price to the owner operator goes up and general aviation takes another economic hit.

If the individual has to get their own liability insurance, it will cost more than $75,000 per year at minimum based on how many aircraft they work on. Throw in a shortage of A&Ps coming in 10 to 15 years and salaries can go up as well, which means the shop rate goes up.

As an advocate for the aviation maintenance professional, you may ask why I am against higher wages for the individuals I represent. I am not nor is the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA). We just realize that this rewrite is bad for general aviation and will reduce the number of aircraft owners, which will reduce the number of A&Ps and increase the number of the unemployed.

The relationship A&P’ have with aircraft owners is a trust that is based on your life. We want more of both pilots and maintenance professionals, not unneeded regulations that hurt aviation’s growth potential.

Dale Forton is president of the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA).

One of the most important aspects of this eight-hour maintenance training is that the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA) keeps it accessible to everyone. That is why this will always be a FREE event and is always conducted on the weekend so everyone can attend. The day will include breakfast, lunch, and an after event cocktail party.

Last year we had 350 people attend our 10th Annual PAMA First State Chapter IA Renewal and Maintenance workshop. This was co-sponsored by Dassault Falcon Jet and ICG. Each technician received eight hours towards their AMT award and IA renewal.

As part of our show we also have a mini trade show. Last year we had 36 vendors set up in the trade show area. Find out more online at www.firststatepama.com.

Dale Forton is president of the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA). Find out more about PAMA at PAMA.org