AMTonline Blogs

This blog falls into the “What the heck are they thinking?” category.

Last April, I wrote about a couple of idiots who smuggled guns and drugs on a flight. That incident caused the TSA, Congress and airline representatives to discuss whether or not airline employees should be subjected to the same screening as the general public is. You can read that blog here.

Apparently, some people think that is the case. H.R. 1413, a bill sponsored by Congresswoman Nita Lowey, a Democrat from New York, passed the House last month. In summary, the bill:

Directs the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration) to: (1) implement a pilot program at five commercial service airports to screen all airport workers with access to sterile areas of the airport; and (2) conduct a vulnerability assessment of each airport participating in such program.

Requires: (1) at least two of the participating airports to be large hub airports, with each of the remaining airports representing a different airport security risk category; (2) screening to be conducted under the same standards as apply to passengers at airport security screening checkpoints and to be carried out by private screeners at a designated screening lane for their exclusive use at a minimum of two airports; (3) the program to be carried out for not less than 180 days; and (4) each participating airport operator to conduct an assessment of the screening technology used at the airport and to submit the results to the Assistant Secretary.

There is a related bill that was introduced in the Senate last April (S. 1095: Airport Security Enhancement Act of 2007) that would:

Amend passenger and property screening provisions to require the screening by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel of: (1) air carrier employees that board a passenger aircraft; and (2) as soon as practicable after the date of enactment of certain airport perimeter screening provisions, airport and air carrier employees, contractors, and vendors before entry into a secured area of an airport in the United States.

Requires the heads of specified hub airports and nonhub airports to: (1) submit to the Administrator of TSA a plan for comprehensive screening of all individuals entering a secure area of an airport; and (2) implement the comprehensive screening plan not later than 60 days after its submission.

Maybe it’s just me, but how do you screen airline employees to the same standards as apply to passengers at airport security screening checkpoints? Do we now have to pack lunches with little 3-ounce bottles of juice that can all fit in a quart-size bag? What about purchasing new tools? How do we get a screwdriver, wrench, or other tool to work? I could go on and on, but you get the point.

Lets just hope that if the H.R. 1413 passes, the assessments of the trial security screenings will show that such a program is not feasible.

What are your thoughts? Do we need to suck it up and be subjected to security screening to protect the flying public from possible terrorist attacks? Is the government overreacting?

Thanks for reading!

Joe Escobar

As the editor in chief of AMT, I receive all sorts of press releases. Some of them aren’t related to aircraft maintenance, but they are still pitched as containing “relevant and important information” for our readers.

I received one of those press releases last week.

People say time flies when you are having fun. Well I guess we need to change the saying to, “Time flies when the universe expands.”

Enjoy,

Joe

Photon Energy to Peak in 2012 

She says that people are finding there aren’t enough hours in the day because of something called the “Photon Energy” which peaks in 2012. “No, it’s not the end of the world, but it’s going to feel like it to many.” Who is she? Her name is Margaret McElroy, or Margaret M as she is known. An Australian now living in Seattle with her husband Alan, Margaret says “The Photon Energy is causing so many problems for people all around the world. We think there are 24 hours in the day, but really there are only about 6–8. So many people don’t have the time to do the things they plan each day. They go to the bank and, before they know it, it’s lunchtime. One more appointment when they should have had two or three, and it’s time for dinner!” 

Scientists have long recognized that the Universe has been growing larger since its origin 13.7 billion years ago, but it was assumed the expansion should be slowing down due to the pull of gravity. In 1998, two teams of astrophysicists discovered that the expansion is actually speeding up. Scientists call it the “Dark Energy” because they have absolutely no clue as to what it is. Margaret said her friends in the world of spirit have told her it is called “Photon Energy,” a band of energy traveling the Universe that is speeding everything up.

Margaret also says the Photon Energy is causing many problems in the world today. It is compressing time, pressuring people, causing road rage, and bringing a lot of anger out. Metaphysically, it is designed to do just that – to bring out of humanity all the trapped energy that the majority on the Earth plane have, not only from this lifetime, but – as Margaret says – from previous lives. Margaret is renowned around the world for her accurate past-life readings both on radio and in person that tie in with people’s lives today. She is uncannily accurate if one listens to the radio show “The Sixth Sense” which is broadcast on WARM FM 106.9 HD3 in Seattle, KCAA 1050 AM in San Bernardino, California, and also streamed and archived on www.contacttalkradio.com and www.kcaaradio.com. As soon as Margaret hears a person’s voice she tunes in to their energy and hones into a past life and the problem it is causing in their life today. 

“If people understood the Photon Energy, many of them would feel better about their lives instead of thinking there is something wrong with them because they do not have enough hours in the day. I am not a scientist,” Margaret says, “but I do have the metaphysical reason for the phenomenon and, for those who have discovered what it is, it has created a great deal of relief in their lives.” 

Reuters is reporting that this past Tuesday, Chinese inspectors found eight mice (dead and alive) on a United Airlines aircraft. The airline had reported the unwelcome stowaways to local quarantine officials upon landing in Beijing Sunday after a flight from Washington, D.C.

The report prompted an “emergency team” to rush the aircraft to put rat poison and mouse traps at every possible corner of the aircraft including the cockpit. The inspectors said that eight mice were found (dead and alive) hidden in pillows onboard the aircraft.

As would be expected, the media had a field day talking about the dozens of fatal viruses that the mice can spread and the risk posed from mice chewing through aircraft wiring and circuits.

In a statement, United Airlines said, “We are taking this matter seriously and have begun a full investigation with the authorities to determine how this happened and ensure it is resolved.”

I have been to Washington, D.C. before, and I can’t help but think that the passengers of that flight are lucky that it was mice that snuck onboard the flight and not some of those huge rats that scurry around D.C. at night. 

You can read the entire Reuters article here.

Thanks for reading.

Joe Escobar

Yesterday was my first day back in the office after taking some time off during the Christmas holidays. After I cleaned out my inboxes (both on my desk and e-mail), I sat down to write this week’s Technically Speaking blog posting. As I prepared to write my blog, I scanned the wires to see if any news items caught my eye.

A news story on maintenance offshoring caught my attention. The story may sound familiar. Large airline decides to establish a maintenance base in Asia to save money. Union wants five percent pay raise for its members. Airline offers three percent. Airline’s 1,700 mechanics threaten industrial action. Company counters by unveiling contingency plans to offset any industrial actions by rescheduling flights and hiring non-union licensed former employees to replace them (at salaries that are twice what the airline’s current mechanics are making).

But this is not a story of the struggles between a U.S. carrier and its mechanics. It is of Quantas. The article appeared in the December 27 issue of theage.com.au. Reporter Scott Rochfort notes the airline fueled anger among staff when it announced plans to establish its first heavy maintenance base in Asia in partnership with Malaysia Airlines. The article goes on to note that Quantas says the new base will only serve as an “overflow” facility when its maintenance facilities in Australia are booked out.

Odd, but why would an airline build a new maintenance base in a foreign country only to use it as an overflow facility? Wouldn’t an investment of that magnitude mean more than just occasional maintenance work would be sent there?

Maintenance offshoring is a trend that affects mechanics around the world. Airlines around the globe are looking at all options when it comes to saving money — especially when it comes to maintenance costs.

You can read the entire article by clicking here.

Thanks for reading!

Joe Escobar

…aviation style.

A friend of mine sent me the following poem that puts an aviation twist on the familiar Christmas poem. I don’t know who the original author is (it is one of those e-mails that spreads through e-mails like E. coli on room-temperature venison).

Enjoy, and here’s wishing you a safe and merry Christmas!

Joe Escobar

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and out on the ramp,
  Not an airplane was stirring, not even a Champ.
  The aircraft were fastened to tie downs with care,
  In hopes that come morning, they all would be there.

  The fuel trucks were nestled, all snug in their spots,
  With gusts from two-forty at 39 knots.
  I slumped at the fuel desk, now finally caught up,
  And settled down comfortably, resting my butt.

  When the radio lit up with noise and with chatter,
  I turned up the scanner to see what was the matter.
  A voice clearly heard over static and snow,
  Called for clearance to land at the airport below.

  He barked his transmission so lively and quick,
  I’d have sworn that the call sign he used was “St. Nick“.
  I ran to the panel to turn up the lights,
  The better to welcome this magical flight.

  He called his position, no room for denial,
  “St. Nicholas One, turning left onto final.”
  And what to my wondering eyes should appear,
  But a Rutan-built sleigh, with eight Rotax Reindeer!

  With vectors to final, down the glideslope he came,
  As he passed the fixes, he called them by name:
  “Now Ringo! Now Tolga! Now Trini and Bacun!
  On Comet! On Cupid!” What pills was he taking?

  While controllers were sitting and scratching their heads,
  They phoned to my office, and I heard it with dread,
  The message they left was both urgent and dour:
  “When Santa pulls in, have him please call the tower.”

  He landed like silk, with the sled runners sparking,
  Then I heard “Left at Charlie,” and “Taxi to parking.”
  He slowed to a taxi, turned off of three-oh
  And stopped on the ramp with a “Ho, ho-ho-ho…”

  He stepped out of the sleigh, but before he could talk,
  I ran out to meet him with my best set of chocks.
  His red helmet and goggles were covered with frost
  And his beard was all blackened from Reindeer exhaust.

  His breath smelled like peppermint, gone slightly stale,
  And he puffed on a pipe (but he didn’t inhale).
  His cheeks were all rosy and jiggled like jelly,
  His boots were as black as a crop duster’s belly.

  He was chubby and plump, in his suit of bright red,
  And he asked me to “fill it, with hundred low-lead.”
  He came dashing in from the snow-covered pump,
  I knew he was anxious for draining the sump.

  I spoke not a word, but went straight to my work,
  And I filled up the sleigh, but I spilled like a jerk.
  He came out of the restroom, and sighed in relief,
  Then he picked up a phone for a Flight Service brief.

  And I thought as he silently scribed in his log,
  These reindeer could land in an eighth-mile fog.
  He completed his pre-flight, from the front to the rear,
  Then he put on his headset, and I heard him yell, “Clear!”

  And laying a finger on his push-to-talk,
  He called up the tower for clearance and squawk.
  “Take taxiway Charlie, the southbound direction,
  Turn right three-two-zero at pilot’s discretion”

  He sped down the runway, the best of the best,
  “Your traffic’s a Grumman, inbound from the west.”
  Then I heard him proclaim, as he climbed thru the night,
  “Merry Christmas to all! I have traffic in sight.”

Getting an A&P certificate isn’t cheap. Taking advanced courses once you have your A&P can also be quite expensive.

AMTSociety wants to help. It has announced the launch of AMTSociety AMTScholarships. The scholarships were created to financially assist those currently working towards their A&P certification as well as to assist those already certified in furthering their professional education and training.

The two scholarships, the William F. “Bill” O’Brien and Charles E. Taylor scholarships, are named after two aircraft maintenance professionals who have spent their careers promoting and advancing the skilled craft of aircraft maintenance professionals.

The two AMTScholarship winners will be announced in March at Aviation Industry Expo. The scholarship winners will be chosen by AMTSociety board members and the AMTSociety Executive Director.

The deadline for the applications is in a few days (December 15), but there is still time to get an application in. If you or someone you know could use some money to help pay for A&P school or to further your aircraft maintenance career, go to AMTSociety.org and click on the left hand button that says AMTSociety Scholarships to read more about the scholarships and to download application forms.

Thanks for reading,

Joe Escobar

I like to keep up with industry news (and world news for that matter). From time to time in this blog, I have commented on some strange news items that I have seen come across the newswires.

There was the story of an Air Force staff sergeant who was sentenced to three months in jail and received a bad conduct discharge for his part in an incident where a frog was thrown into a running F-16 engine.

Then there was the blog where I discussed the Turkish aircraft technicians who sacrificed a camel on the tarmac of Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport.

Well another odd news item came through the wire this week. It didn’t involve the killing or sacrificing of an animal, but it was odd nonetheless.

The Associated Press reports that this past Tuesday, workers at Indonesia’s main airport found “a piece of a wing from a passenger jet on the runway.”

A senior air transportation official at the airport says, “it has been identified as a side engine cover, but we do not yet know which plane it came from.”

The story goes on to say that last month, a similar-sized piece of wing fell from a jetliner minutes after it took off from the same airport.

Are you kidding? How do you recover a 10-foot panel and not know which airplane it came from? A missing screw, I can understand, but a 10-foot panel?

And how the heck can you have two similar panels depart aircraft at the same airport in a month’s time? How are these panels being secured? Bubble gum?

The article closes by noting that the country suffered a series of accidents earlier this year that killed more than 120 people, leading to the European Union banning all the country’s airlines from landing there and the FAA downgrading the nation’s rating to its lowest category. It also notes that experts say the industry is plagued by poor maintenance, rule-bending and a shortage of trained professionals.

Gee, you think?

You can read the entire article here.

Thanks for reading,

Joe Escobar

Outsourcing is a growing trend. Employees in all industries are seeing their employers outsourcing more and more work — some to U.S. contractors, some to foreign countries.

Aircraft maintenance outsourcing has been in the news again recently. As we reported last week, United mechanics handed out pamphlets nationwide urging the company not to outsource its Mileage Plus and maintenance units. In another news story yesterday, it was reported that AMR Corporation (parent company of American Airlines) intends to sell its American Eagle regional airline next year. AMR shareholders have been pressuring American to sell the regional airline and other assets, moves they believe could raise money and raise AMR’s stock price. Other assets that could be on the chopping block in the future might include the airline’s maintenance unit and its repair and overhaul operations.

When looking at outsourcing, airlines are looking at one thing — money. They are looking at how to save the most money in order to create the best value for their shareholders. They want to concentrate on their core business while outsourcing other non-core business units. To them, they see the operations side of their companies as their core business. They fly people from point A to point B. That is what they do. The rest of the stuff like reward programs and maintenance are seen as non-core business units.

But what are the long-term effects of outsourcing? By outsourcing maintenance, airlines experience a loss of aircraft knowledge and technical expertise. They are depending on other companies for the maintenance and safe operation of their airplanes.

The public has been in an uproar recently over toys. But if you look at the criticism of what went wrong with outsourcing toy manufacturing, you could easily replace “toy manufacturing” with “outsourced maintenance.” Buzz words are, pardon the pun, flying around — words like “sub-standard practices,” “improper procedures” and “inadequate government oversight” come to mind.

But while the public is in an angry uproar over sub-standard toys, there is barely a whisper of anger when it comes to outsourcing airline maintenance. It’s not because they aren’t aware of the practice — the mainstream media continues to report on the topic. Yet, the flying public does not respond. They remain indifferent to the issue. Could it be because the flying public is addicted to low ticket prices? Like toys, airline tickets have become a commodity, with customers making purchasing decisions based on the lowest ticket price, not even considering for a moment the quality of the airline’s maintenance.

The flying public has the power to influence the airlines. If they are concerned about maintenance, they could choose not to fly on airlines that outsource their maintenance. The airlines would then have to respond or go out of business.

But that is not the case…

…yet.

Thanks for reading,

Joe Escobar

Our weekly electronic newsletter is going out a day early this week because of Thanksgiving. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I would like to share some thanks.

I would like to thank Kathy Marr (the former publisher of AMT), Michelle Garetson (former editor) and the rest of the AMT staff who gave this A&P/IA a chance seven years ago to become a part of the magazine I had read and enjoyed for years. It was the opportunity of a lifetime!

I would like to thank Greg Napert (a fellow A&P), the founding editor of AMT, who has helped me grow even more as an editor since he re-joined the magazine staff four years ago as publisher.

I want to thank our editorial team — Barb Zuehlke (our managing editor), and Dionne Shearer (our assistant editor). All of this would not be possible without all of their hard work and dedication.

I would like to thank Danny Faupel, Bob Graf, Jon Jezo, and Julie Suhr, our sales staff, who support our advertisers and help them market their products and services to our readers in this ever-changing industry.

I would like to thank our advertisers. Without their support, we could not publish AMT for free to more than 41,000 aircraft maintenance professionals around the world.

I must also thank all of the staff here at Cygnus for their ongoing support. From our graphics and production department to our interactive group, it is truly a team effort to publish AMT and produce content for AMTonline.com.

To our contributors, another thank you is in order. Steve Prentice, Joe Hertzler, Bill O’Brien, Brandon Battles, Jim Sparks, James Careless, Giacinta Bradley-Koontz and Ian Parker are an imporrtant part of the AMT family.

I need to thank Tom Hendershot, executive director of AMTSociety, and all the AMTSociety board members and AMTSociety members. AMTSociety has grown a lot this past year, and we look forward to continued growth as we continue to expand benefits and resources for its members.

But most importantly, I would like to thank the readers of AMT and our online community on AMTonline.com. You are the reason we go to work each morning. You are the reason we are the number one maintenance publication.

I have always thought that those acceptance speeches at awards ceremonies were sappy, with thanks going on and on for way too long. After sitting down to write this blog, I realize how difficult it is to share thanks without leaving anyone out. If I were to list all the people that deserved thanks, you would be reading this blog for hours. I won’t do that, so my thanks to everyone else I left out.

On behalf of the AMT team, I would like to wish everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Thanks for reading!

Joe Escobar

You may have heard the phrase, “It flew in, it’ll fly out” on the hangar floor before. I have heard it several times, usually in jest when a major defect was found during aircraft inspection.

But a New Zealand pilot took this phrase to a whole new level. The New Zealand Herald reported today that a pilot was fined $10,000 after putting a cracked component back on a plane. The pilot, Paul Ensor, is the owner of Island Air Charters. Last July, an aircraft engineer (mechanic) was inspecting the company’s Cessna 210 when he found a crack on the nose landing gear. The gear was sent off for repair, but the engineer working on the gear could not repair it and sent the defective part back to Island Air Charters.

When the gear arrived back at the facility, Ensor (who is not an engineer) decided that the landing gear was not damaged and put the landing gear back on the aircraft himself, flying the aircraft 18 times and carrying 80 passengers with the cracked gear.

The CAA suspended Ensor’s pilot’s certificate. The court sentenced him to a maximum 12 months prison or $10,000. The court also ordered that he not fly for 6 months.

They say that the person that represents himself in a court of law has an idiot for an attorney. I guess this pilot, who performed his own maintenance, has an idiot for a mechanic.

You can read the full story here.

Thanks for reading.