Tag: Featured Story

This is an industry that goes to such extreme (and vital) safety efforts; from aircraft ground de-icing to lighted and marked runways; from radio altimeters to regularly scheduled ‘A’ – ‘D’ maintenance checks; from traffic advisory systems to terrain altering ones; and even pre-flight checklists, exterior walkaround inspections and weather forecasting. Some planes are now equipped with onboard airframe parachute systems – not for the pilot or passengers – for the plane itself. In essence, the industry has always focused on the fact that there can’t be enough effort, attention and technology devoted to safety.

Then why is it, almost annually, there are severe injuries and fatalities from propeller strikes to individuals caught up in an aircraft’s flightline?

• In 2019 a Florida woman lost her right hand and two toes when a propeller blade hit her as she was helping prepare for a take-off.

• That same year a Louisiana woman was seriously injured when she walked into an air-plane propeller at a small airport at night.

• In 2018 a Cleveland-based pilot was killed by an airplane propeller when he was stuck in the head.

And it’s not just passengers or the unknowing public. Since the 1990s, the United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has tracked more than a dozen severe flightline injuries/fatalities by aviation maintenance personnel.

According to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Air Safety Institute, injuries or fatalities related to crew, ground personnel, passengers, or bystanders walking into a turning prop are reported almost every year. Fortunately, adhering to proper safety precautions can easily prevent these incidents. Here are several safety considerations to ensure greater propeller safety on the ramp:

• Always treat the propeller as if the ignition is on.

• Never attempt to load or unload an airplane with the engine running.

• Make sure your passengers understand areas to avoid.

“Safety should be a main concern for everyone in the industry, not just pilots and operators. I particularly believe that it’s the duty and obligation of those on the MRO side to make sure their customers know that products such as AfterGlo coatings and other safety enhancing upgrades are available for their aircraft (and helicopters)” according to Dave Coleman, president, Coleman Jet Solutions, and a former executive with Duncan Aviation, one of the largest MROs in North America.

Even if the customer declines to apply it, there is value in the conversation you are having with your customer regarding the benefits of the product. At the end of the day, we want our customers and their passengers to be safe and come back and do business with us. Ironically, it’s an opportunity for the MRO to generate additional revenue by suggesting and applying safety propeller coatings.”

And he should know. Growing up in an aviation family, Coleman related how his father told a story that in the 1970s one of his employees was severely injured by a rotating propeller while on the job. Coleman was repeatedly instructed by his father to be alert on the flightline — and to this day is cautious around propellers. Coleman became exposed to the AfterGlo safety coating (a Photoluminescent Paint System) when working on his own plane, a restored 1982 Piper Turbo Seminole. Utilizing the capacity at Duncan, he was able get his aircraft’s exterior painted between other Duncan projects.

He was trying out a new SKYscapes Next Gen basecoat/clearcoat system from Sherwin-Williams Aerospace, when he was reviewing one of the brand’s catalogues in the ‘Defense Coatings’ sections. There he saw the availability of the safety coating AfterGlo system, originally commissioned by the U.S. Navy through Defense Holdings, Inc. (DHi). DHi partnered with Sherwin-Williams to develop the paint that could be applied to propeller tips. The Navy wanted it for use on aircraft carriers, where it would illuminate prop tips and give the visibility needed to prevent personnel from inadvertently walking into a moving prop.

The Navy converted all its E-2/C-2 aircraft to this propeller paint scheme in 2008 following near-ly five years of successful research, development, and testing. The aerospace-grade photoluminescent (PL) paint is applied to the blades and blade tips of helicopter main and tail rotors and aircraft propeller blades to aid personnel in avoiding injury or death, particularly in low-light situations.

The initial application of this paint was on the Navy’s E-2C/D carrier-based aircraft to help save the lives of men and women who must work at night in the vicinity of rapidly spinning propel-ler blades on aircraft carrier flight decks. The PL paint is required for use on U.S. Navy aircraft as well as the aircraft in numerous foreign militaries. In addition to the work with the U.S. Navy and Hartzell Propeller (the latter which in 2010 signed the first agreement with DHi approving the PL paint on its propellers), the paint has been applied to helicopter main and tail rotors and DHi is in discussions with several OEMs, fixed-wing aircraft builders, propeller manufacturers and MRO’s regarding adoption of the paint for their aircraft and propellers.

The AfterGlo solution combines a revolutionary, long-lasting, ultra-bright, non-radioactive PL material with a high-quality aerospace coating to dramatically improve propeller blade visibility under all lighting conditions. The application maximizes visibility, material adhesion, durability, wear resistance and ease of installation without compromising propeller/rotor aerodynamic performance or aircraft detection. It is also compatible with Night Vision Devices.

“The phosphors in the paint absorb a broad spectrum of UV energy (200nm to 450 nm) from natural and artificial sources of light, which charges the electrons in the orbital structure; causing them to emit photons,” explained Richard Martin, DHi’s president and CEO. “The material will then recharge itself and will do so for years. ‘Pursue the minimization of propeller strikes’; that’s the actual statement of work from the Navy when looking to have this paint system developed,” added Martin. “My understanding is that the long-term effectiveness of it is such that in the dozen or so years we’ve provided this to the Navy, there hasn’t been one fatality, or even serious injury that we’ve heard of, recorded on a flight deck.”

AfterGlo is not a difficult process to apply — in fact it comes complete in kit form and oftentimes Naval personnel simply apply it to the propeller tips of aircraft when they are hangered or on the flight deck.

“We’re honored to work with DHI on such a significant aviation safety initiative,” said Julie Voisin, global product manager at Sherwin-Williams Aerospace Coatings. “The coating system was originally designed for improved visual acuity of stationary and rotating objects in night and low-light operations. In addition to propeller blades, it can also be used for plane dock doors, tie-down chains (so people don’t trip), winglets and even wheel chocks. We developed the paint process and manufactured the system which includes a white polyurethane basecoat, followed by the photoluminescent (PL) layer topped with a clearcoat. The three-part system also provides excellent hardness and impact resistance. It is typically applied using a high-volume, low-pressure HVLP gravity feed gun,” added Voisin.

“The product is a true win-win. This is an opportunity for the MRO to serve the customer, demonstrate that they care, while also adding to the bottom-line,” concluded Coleman. “It’s not at an overly time-consuming or highly technical process. It also differentiates your facility from the others during the estimating process — because you can’t put a price on safety.”

Addressing threats to flight is a constant challenge for airlines. In January 2022, Verizon and AT&T’s 5G c-band spectrum rollouts halted flights as fears rose over 5G’s interference with altimeters, the instrument used to measure a plane’s height above the earth. In a statement penned by CEOs of multiple major airlines, the cell providers were warned of an impending catastrophic aviation crisis if the rollouts continued.

Threats to flight are generally clear-cut — natural disasters, mechanical malfunctions, or hijackers — but the A4A’s request to stop rollouts is a reminder that new threats emerge in aerospace, as they do in any other industry. And as threats emerge, we need adequate systems and mechanisms to help prepare for and respond to them.

Aviation disasters can cost airlines millions of dollars and create irreversible reputational damage while also threatening the life of every single passenger. An airline’s direct cost of a crash averages around $9.1 million, with indirect compensation costs rising even higher if the airline is found at fault for a crash. Thus, airlines must be fully prepared to deal with any emergency and mitigate further calamities when disaster strikes. Additional costs and damages will be significantly reduced when airlines invest in comprehensive emergency management.

Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act

In an aviation accident, an airline must evaluate a crisis and determine the cause and impact while at the same time communicating with the passengers’ families. This is a complex series of workflows. Emergency response and disaster relief plans incorporating automation, connection, and management create a more efficient communication network. Under the Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act of 1996, airlines are required to:

• Provide a toll-free telephone line for victims’ families.

• Inform families of the death of family members.

• Help families travel to the accident. location and provide them room and board

• List all passengers on the flight and tell families before publicizing the list.

This is an incredibly fractured process if the right communication, data management, tracking system, and response plan are not in place.

Elements of Emergency Management

One of the most crucial elements of emergency management is the need for effective internal and external communication networks. Airlines and their employees should be able to access critical data without undue delay or administrative friction. A significant issue facing airlines’ emergency preparedness is a lack of coordination between airlines, airports, and personnel. Airlines must be able to disseminate information efficiently in any situation. Far too often, the airlines and their crews face barriers to effective communication, with information or correspondence failing to reach key stakeholders in a timely fashion. With so many lines of communication that appear in response to a crisis, antiquated systems can lead to errors and wasted time. Airlines need to respond to a disaster without taking time to bridge data boundaries and communication gaps while simultaneously reacting to an emergency. With the proper emergency management, these detrimental communication gaps will no longer hinder operations.

The foundation of excellent emergency preparedness is situational awareness. Airlines can easily keep pace with current activities while automating event management 24/7 when deploying emergency management plans. There is often a lack of critical information provided to key players when disaster strikes. If safety managers do not understand precisely what to do, they will inevitably have difficulty managing the crisis. No airline member should be left out of the loop, and the entirety of an organization must receive the appropriate level of information in a timely fashion.

Airlines also need to adequately train their employees in crisis management to have a comprehensive emergency management system. An airline must be able to act swiftly and effectively from the ground up. All employees must be trained in emergency response, from operations to passenger service agents. This will ensure that response efforts holistically reflect the airline’s commitment to safety while also empowering every team member to serve a purpose effectively.

Emergency preparedness mechanisms will provide tracking for passengers and crews that will significantly help abide by the Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act. With the proper data management and visibility in place, airlines can quickly organize while informing the necessary parties. Tracking elements will provide all the information on passengers and crew involved in a crisis, denoting any specific aid required during an incident.

Inevitably, having adequate emergency preparedness will also reduce business costs. Emergency preparedness plans can help cut costs by reducing duplication of efforts and consolidating work. By implementing collaborative operations systems, havoc can be captured, reshaped, and redirected to make work more productive.

Fly High with Situational Awareness

While emergency preparedness and response platforms require investment, they provide an incredible level of security and value for both airlines and their passengers. An airline’s reputation will hinge on its preparedness and response in an industry where a crisis lurks in the shadows. An emergency management system is the difference between being credited for handling a bad situation well or being blamed for an avoidable disaster.

Brad Pond serves as vice president of the transportation vertical at Juvare. He is a 21-year veteran of the WebEOC adventure. A former U. S. Navy submariner, Pond earned his BS in computer science from Limestone College and his MBA from The Citadel. Juvare is a worldwide leader in emergency preparedness and critical incident management and response technology. Juvare solutions empower corporations, academic institutions, government agencies, healthcare facilities, and volunteer organizations to leverage real-time data to manage incidents faster and more efficiently, protecting people, property, and brands.

When people marvel at modern aircraft, they tend to focus on major technological advances like carbon fiber airframes/wings and fuel-sipping turbojet engines. But progress is also occurring in less obvious but equally important areas of today’s flying machines — namely wheels and brakes.

A Long List of Improvements

The Wright Flyer (the earliest successful powered aircraft) had neither wheels or brakes. It landed on skids, and the pilot just hoped for the best.

Wheels for takeoff and landing emerged a few years later. They soon became standard equipment on World War I biplanes and beyond, growing in size and weight-bearing capability over time.

So did brakes. They evolved from the small brake shoes used on bicycles to larger, more robust drum brakes, and then disk brakes.

The power to activate these brakes originally came from hand-levered control cables. But this approach was only adequate for small aircraft, which is why hydraulic braking systems using pressurized fluid and master cylinders came into being. (Some aircraft also use pneumatic braking systems.)

In the 21st century, “one of the latest developments in brake actuation has been the electric brake,” said Alex Lara, director of Wheels & Brakes Service at AAR Corp. “Recently electric brakes have been introduced in the B787. Electric brakes are powered by the aircraft’s electric system and this force is transferred to the heat sink through electromechanical actuators. This new design considerably reduces the possibility of hydraulic fluid leakage and facilitates brake installation and maintenance.”

Like most MROs, AAR offers Cost per Landing, All-Inclusive Flat Rate repair and overhaul, and tire management programs. The company also provides spare wheel and brake inventory for its customers, so they don’t have to invest in spares themselves.

“The arrival of electrical brakes on recent aircraft is probably the main new trend in this area,” said Ismaël Fadili, sales and marketing director at France’s Antavia AMETEK MRO. “When it comes to wheels, the technology has been rather the same in recent years.” Antavia has two different shops for wheels and brakes located in France, and about 30 people dedicated to these products.

The basic concept underlying aircraft wheels and their brakes — robust rolling surfaces that support safe takeoffs and landings — has not changed. But the structure of this technology is evolving, said Phil Randell, CEO of UK wheel/brake specialist firm World Aero. World Aero is a privately owned, independent aircraft wheel and brake MRO based close to London Gatwick Airport. Frequently supported aircraft types range in size from Learjet 45 to Boeing 747-8, with a constantly varied list of wheels and brakes being processed at any one time.

“As with most other components that make up aircraft, a key trend we are seeing at World Aero is the weight reduction of wheel and brake components,” Randell said. “Whereas wheels used to be really heavy and almost indestructible, they often now look like something you’d expect to see on a race car! Everything is being pared down so we are seeing ever leaner, more delicate-looking equipment on aircraft. Of course, new materials and stronger wheel structures ensure that they are still robust in service.”

But every technological advance comes with some form of tradeoff. In the case of modern aircraft wheels and brakes, making them lighter means that they may have shorter lifespans compared with the heavy items of the past. “The efficiencies and fuel savings delivered by lighter-weight wheels and brakes tend to outweigh the additional costs of potentially higher rejection rates at overhaul,” said Randell.

Offering better performance than older technologies, modern carbon brakes and radial tires are also becoming common on everything from small commuter planes to long-haul aircraft.

“There are also ongoing retrofit programs for types such as the 737NG to replace steel brakes with carbon equipment, a process that requires the replacement of the main wheels too,” Randell told Aviation Maintenance magazine. “The cost of the new components is high and the resale value of the old equipment is negligible. Still vendors are offering huge incentives for aircraft operators to refit their equipment, such as free wheels and brakes for an entire fleet.”

Again, every improvement comes with a price. In this case, the repair cost of carbon brakes is considerably higher than steel types, which could be a deal-breaker for many cash-strapped aircraft operators. On the other hand, the operational lifespan of a carbon brake is “often three times that of a steel brake,” said Randell. This much-longer lifespan translates into significant time and money savings on brake changes, plus reducing “the logistics of routing units to and from overhaul, spares holding levels, and administration,” he said. An added bonus: Carbon brakes weigh less than steel brakes, so carrying them aloft reduces fuel burn and saves even more money for operators.

A final technological advance in this category is the use of boltless wheels. A boltless wheel relies on a lockring device that marries the wheel flange to the wheel base. This change allows the boltless wheel to have fewer parts and less weight than its conventional bolted counterpart.

According to World Aero’s Randell, boltless wheels have made serious inroads into corporate aircraft, but not their larger cousins. “The only aircraft type of note to have done so recently is the huge Hercules C-130 transport aircraft,” he said. To be specific, the U.S. Air Force upgraded its entire C-130 fleet to boltless wheels and carbon brakes in 2013.

Trends in Wheel and Brake Service

In response to advances in aircraft wheel and brake technology, the specialist MROs that service them are making changes to their operating procedures. However, “many of our practices have remained the same over the years as there has been no major disruption in this technology,” said Fadili. “This is why we are focused on how to be more productive using the automation of tasks such as wheel scans and automatic blasting machines.”

This is also the case at FerroCrtalic, a Slovenian firm with 55 years’ experience in removing paint for aircraft wheels (among other things, paint removal is required to allow wheels to be inspected for cracks and other signs of wear).

“The process for cleaning modern painted wheels is the same for older models,” said Aljaz Molek, FerroCrtalic’s sales manager for special equipment. Nevertheless, FerroCrtalic has stayed abreast of the times when it comes to paint removal methods. Instead of using chemical processes, the company says it is providing the most advanced “plastic air blasting” method to remove paint using small plastic particles, thus eliminating the toxic substances associated with the chemical processes. And reusing the plastic is much more environmentally friendly. On top of that, the company also provides high-pressure waterjet paint removal, which is basically removal of paint using pure water at high pressure. The water can be recycled and used numerous times.

“As well, we are now deploying ‘laser cleaning,’” Molek said. In this process, a laser beam is pulsed at a target using a high frequency (50 kHz to 1500 kHz). The short pulses create just enough energy within the wheel’s surface for rust and paint to evaporate into plasma and burn off.

“Being new, laser cleaning is quite an expensive technology,” said Molek. “But its price will come down over time, allowing more aircraft operators to take advantage of it.”

World Aero is also focused on improving its wheel and brake maintenance processes. Echoing Fadili, Randell observed that “the MRO sector for wheels and brakes is very established and the key components are actually quite straightforward, so we don’t tend to see a lot of new practices and innovation. Strength, reliability and ultimately safety have always been at the core of what we do, so it’s more about refining and honing practices, rather than big step-changes.”

Also like Antavia, World Aero is “continually streamlining processes to achieve better efficiencies and faster turnaround times,” he said. “We will do whatever is needed to meet customer deadlines, often at little to no notice. It’s this flexible, premium level service that keeps our customers loyal and sets us apart from our competitors.”

One area where wheel and brake MROs are seeing change is in their customers’ management of this maintenance process. “More and more airlines are steering away from maintenance and concentrating on flying,” Lara said. “As a result, airlines are looking for a one-stop shop when it comes to their wheels and brakes. They are seeking companies that can manage all the repairs and logistics associated with these components, including tires.”

COVID’s Impact

Two years of the pandemic have had a significant effect on the wheel and brake industry, going right back to early 2020 when the world went sideways. But the impact on business has varied from sector to sector.

“As far as the commercial and regional sectors are concerned, Antavia has seen a volume decrease in line with the percentage of aircraft flying,” said Fadili. “For the military and business jet sectors — with the exception of the first two-three months of the pandemic — activity has remained at a pre-COVID level.”

“AAR did see a drop in commercial business, but at the same time we witnessed an increase in the cargo sector,” Lara said. “Some customers have been deferring major repairs, due to the advantage of having excess spares, as a result of their partially parked fleet. More recently, due to supply chain issues around the world, we have experienced logistical delays across the board. OEMs have increased their lead times on orders from 30 days to 60 and even 90 days. Freight forwarders have also reduced their services and increased or have added surcharges.”

Decreases in customer business and supply chain challenges have affected the cash flow of MROs across the aviation industry. Uncertain as to when COVID-19 will finally recede and allow the volume of aircraft usage to return to pre-pandemic levels, these MROs are husbanding their financial resources carefully, and keeping expansion plans on the back burner.

A case in point: “As with many other organizations, many of World Aero’s business development plans have been placed on hold during the pandemic,” said Randell. “Our focus has very much been about protecting our team, supporting our customers and weathering the storm. Flexibility, preparation and the right skill set are the crucial factors we’ve been focusing on to ensure World Aero is in the best position to react accordingly to our customers’ needs as we move forward.”

“Some of our customers have not been able to weather the pandemic,” said FerroCrtalic’s Molek. “But we are getting the feeling that business is starting to pick up, and that the aviation industry’s future is looking better for all of us.”

Looking Ahead

Whether or not COVID-19 is in the rearview mirror, the wheel and brake industry is looking ahead to the future and making plans to profit from it.

At Antavia AMETEK MRO, they see “staying the course” as their best business strategy.

“As there are no major new aircraft programs scheduled for the next few years, there are no major new technologies arising,” Fadili said. “Nevertheless, we could see some improvements in line with addressing environmental concerns, such as new painting or surface treatments.”

FerroCrtalic is pursuing a similar approach. “We have been working during COVID to be prepared when the industry picks up,” said Molek. “We want to be ready to ramp up with what we have when this happens.”

AAR and World Aero are taking a longer view of the future and what’s coming.

“The wheel and brake industry will continue to grow as orders for new aircraft increase: Airlines are retiring their older wide-body aircraft and replacing them with newer more efficient narrow bodies,” AAR’s Lara predicted. “Electric brake technology will continue to be the trend, along with the introduction of lighter and stronger materials. Additionally, carbon will become more efficient and reliable as OEMs compete and continue to improve their products. On the wheel side, besides lighter and stronger materials, I believe the two-piece lock ring design wheels will continue to evolve and become the next generation of aircraft wheels. This design eliminates the need for tie bolts, thus reducing cost and maintenance.”

World Aero’s Randell agreed with Lara’s upbeat assessment. He also expects to see “an increased focus on IT to streamline the processing of units through workshops, utilizing barcodes, scanners and other technologies.”

But there is a cloud on the wheel and brake industry horizon: “A challenge that is going to increase further for the whole of the MRO sector is a lack of new talent entering the market,” said Randell. “We are seeing fewer young people interested in joining the industry, which in turn will lead to a skills shortage as the established, older workforce retires,” he explained. “At World Aero we work hard to promote opportunities, career progression and on-the-job training to attract the next generation of engineers. But it’s still not easy to find candidates of the right caliber, a problem that has been made even harder by COVID. This is a real worry for the sector — and something we all need to be addressing now.”

The bottom line: The aviation wheel and brake industry is evolving to keep up with new technologies, while maintaining tried-and-true processes that work as well in this century as they did in the last one.

Around the world, the rotorcraft industry — and to a larger extent the entire aviation industry — is struggling to fill vacant positions for maintenance technicians. The negative impact of this manpower shortage is especially severe at a time when the global rotorcraft fleet is expanding and modernizing. In 2020, the FAA issued 30% fewer new mechanic certificates than it did in 2019, a drop-off that the Aviation Technician Education Council (ATEC) described as “devastating” in its 2021 Pipeline Report. Without engine repair technicians, many fear there could be fewer rotorcraft in operation.

According to a 2017 Oliver Wyman report, “When Growth Outpaces Capacity,” executives from the MRO industry said they are indeed worried about an anticipated shortfall in the number of adequately trained aviation mechanics. A majority of survey respondents (78%) reported that it is getting harder to hire mechanics and the tightening labor market is pushing them to rely on overtime and other stop-gap efforts to keep up with market demand.

“One of the biggest impacts of the labor shortage is increased turn-around-times (TAT) for heavy maintenance checks and the limited availability of maintenance slots — the two are highly correlated,” said Jonathan Berger, managing director of Alton Aviation Consultancy. “Maintenance shops have limited capacity because the shortage of mechanics means aircraft overhauls take longer, which reduces the number of slots available. This labor shortage is not unique to the helicopter industry. Worldwide there is a shortage of mechanics in virtually every industry — e.g. automotive, rail, energy, IT, agriculture, etc. — and aviation is not immune: fixed wing and helicopters. Everyone is coping as best they can.”

Crystal Maguire, executive director of the Aviation Technician Education Council (ATEC), agreed that the rotorcraft industry is not going to have the maintenance personnel it needs. “Look at the entire workforce population and every sector has a problem. Its impact is there, and [the rotorcraft industry] is not going to have the workforce to support growth. But it’s not going to make the [rotorcraft] industry go away. [The industry] is going to figure out other ways if it doesn’t have the personnel to do it.”

Retirement, COVID and Vacancies

One of the most often cited reasons for this mechanic manpower shortage is retirement as more baby boomers reach their mid-60s and early retirement. This loss of experience compounds the overall skills shortage dilemma. According to the Oliver Wyman 2017 MRO survey, over the next decade, the record number of maintenance technicians eligible to retire will outpace the total of new mechanics entering the market. The median age of aviation mechanics is 51, nine years older than the median age of the broader U.S. workforce as calculated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Maguire said she has witnessed, industry-wide, “an exodus of folks who were nearing retirement. We are still trying to get a better sense of that statistically. We have fast-forwarded our manpower shortage projections.” COVID-19 has exacerbated this problem; because of COVID, many senior rotorcraft mechanics were offered early-out buyout packages to retire early. “We knew we were going to have a problem if we didn’t already; that’s the biggest implication of COVID,” Maguire said.

“Clearly the pandemic directly contributed to what many are calling the ‘great resignation,’” Berger explained. “I prefer the term the ‘great reflection.’ The global pandemic and associated lockdowns provided the opportunity for thoughtful introspection and to reprioritize what’s really important to them. The fact is that aviation is a very cyclical industry; for helicopters, oil and gas has experienced periods of tremendous boom and busts of the past several decades, and emergency air medical, and search and rescue (SAR) are quite stressful fields of work.”

“In an odd way the pandemic may have helped the industry, because it allowed operators to retool, restructure, economize and strategize for the future,” said Zac Noble, director of maintenance and technology at Helicopter Association International. “Most helicopter operators were forced to slow their flight pace or stop them altogether. It isn’t good for operators or industry when that happens, but it allowed for the reorganization of assets internally to operations, but also allowed academic institutions to push needed pilots and mechanics into the stream. We are still facing shortages of mechanics. Flight operations are beginning to ramp back up in most cases for those who were not forced to close their doors for good. But because flight volume hasn’t returned to pre-COVID levels, maintenance operations are able to keep up with the pace, although it might require additional workdays or time in some cases.”

Not all companies were adversely affected by the pandemic and the mechanic shortages it produced. “We never shut down or reduced our operations during COVID-19, and in some ways picked up more work as a result of increased search-and-rescue medevac missions, mostly to transport COVID patients,” said Benjamin Hulshoff, director of maintenance at Bristow Group. “The biggest impact was with some staff workers who could work remotely, but for our aircraft maintenance technicians, that was not an option. We had more impacts to our operations from the hurricanes that hit the coast of Louisiana than we did from COVID-19.”

Filling Manpower Shortages

For most operators, filling rotorcraft engine mechanic vacancies has become more competitive, but they have still found ways to do it. “It does take a little more active recruiting to fill positions in today’s more challenging environment, but to date, we have not had any issues in the United States in obtaining good quality candidates,” Hulshoff said. “The helicopter industry is a very niche industry. Bristow has a strong reputation and offers very competitive pay and benefits. In the United States, when we merged with Era Group Inc. in June 2020, we also had a surplus of positions from combining the two companies, so we have not faced as many of the issues as other helicopter companies have faced.”

Maguire said ATEC has been working a lot on building awareness of rotorcraft mechanic perks and trying to attract more professionals to it across all sectors. “We are trying to approach this at a national level — getting stakeholders and coalitions together to talk about what we can do as a whole. What are the talking points? How can we all pull together as one to increase the pipeline, which would raise all boats. If more people were aware of the opportunities, we wouldn’t have this shortage problem. That’s what we are working on. You see planes flying around more than you see helicopters flying around, so it’s awareness. It behooves us to illustrate the broad range of opportunities available. There’s a lot of things to do with an Aircraft Maintenance Technician (AMT) license.”

Hulshoff said the rotorcraft industry needs to reach out to more women and minorities, who he believes are underrepresented in the field. Also, “I think a strong pipeline of candidates can come from the military services, and there are many experienced candidates serving in the military. The military branches are now helping their aircraft maintenance technicians obtain FAA certifications, which makes them more employable in the civilian sector. I also think we can help early career AMTs get their FAA certifications quicker and to offer more support for those who want to come into the field, whether they work in general aviation or a related field with similar skill sets. Making the process to obtain certification easier helps offer advancement routes for your aircraft maintenance technicians so they can have a long career with your company. We have a lot of workers who have been with our company 15 years or longer, which is unprecedented in other fields.”

Next Generation Rotorcraft Mechanics

To replace retiring rotorcraft mechanics and technicians, the rotorcraft industry is looking to attract, recruit and train a new generation of younger workers. And, as college tuition continues to rise, a career as rotorcraft technician could be viewed favorably by millennials because it doesn’t require a four-year college degree.

To fill vacancies, companies are getting creative, offering generous sign-on bonuses and other incentives in addition to competitive wages. Some students have even arranged for companies to pay their tuition instead of taking out student loans. To recruit tomorrow’s tech-savvy rotorcraft diagnosticians at a recent career fair in Ohio hosted by the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics, companies were conducting on-site interviews and offering jobs to students on the spot.

Bristow has stepped up its recruiting efforts, including position marketing and participating in specific job fairs. “We also established maintenance scholarships at a local trade school in Louisiana to create a pipeline of AMTs,” Hulshoff said. “For our current workforce, our focus has been on the quality of life and to ensure we do our best to retain our AMTs.”

To help attract and train the next generation of rotorcraft mechanics, ATEC is working on a high school curriculum, planned for fall 2022, that includes rotorcraft maintenance to build awareness for young job seekers. “We are really trying desperately hard to get these programs in high school settings that would communicate these [rotorcraft mechanic career] pathways,” Maguire said. “They could do a lot of the training for free. Those are the programs that we encourage. It’s not going to come around without the industry taking a lead in it. [Build awareness] locally in high schools, that’s a great way to do it, and with mentors to get these programs in there. Building our own local pathway programs — that’s what we’ve seen is making the biggest impact for companies — getting involved at that local level.”

Helicopter Association International is a strong advocate for education accessibility. HAI and many other organizations offer scholarships to qualified applicants. “Additionally, the COVID pandemic created a pathway for remote learning from Part 147 certificated schools that can meet the published requirements,” Noble said. “Educational opportunities are available. I would encourage anyone interested in a career in aircraft maintenance, and particularly helicopter maintenance, to look into avenues for attaining an Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic Certificate.”

Since helicopter repair is so niche, is it more difficult to attract young talent to this profession? “There is no doubt that helicopters require a level of specialized training that is not often taught in traditional classrooms,” Noble said. “Things like hands-on rotor track and balancing are rarely taught in Airframe and Powerplant courses because availability of a real helicopter to train on is difficult to get into schools. HAI has tried to work with our members to bring that capability to schools, but those resources are difficult to come by.”

Emphasize an Attractive Occupation

Yes, there are real challenges to attracting young talent to work as a rotorcraft technician; the work is often physically demanding in bad weather, and requires long and odd hours with unreliable schedules. Being an AMT means having a stressful job with pressure to resolve technical issues quickly and accurately. But building awareness of the many advantages of being a rotorcraft technician is a positive way to attract talent.

At HAI, Noble explained, through implementing collaborative strategy opportunities and because margins are normally so close in the helicopter community, pride can be built in what helicopters do for our communities and nation. “[This is] key to recruiting and retaining qualified mechanics. Helicopters are different than airplanes. Helicopters provide the infrastructure necessary for citizens to enjoy a high quality of life. We erect power grids, fight fires, provide law enforcement, agricultural spraying, lift power and environmental units to the tops of tall buildings, perform logging operations, transport crews to and from offshore oil platforms, and carry our sickest citizens to appropriate medical facilities. There is an endless list of jobs that helicopters do, and for a pilot, mechanic, support team to take pride in the services they bring to our society is instrumental in filling required and very necessary positions.”

Hulshoff agreed that one way the industry can promote a helicopter AMT career is to emphasize that rotorcraft operation ensures safe passage of passengers daily in the offshore energy industry and helps save lives with search-and-rescue services. “The United States depends on the energy industry to run and being a part of that industry can be very rewarding. [Also,] many AMTs prefer helicopters because the work is more challenging and offers a rewarding career. Our locations are mostly in Louisiana in the United States and a lot of our mechanics love the region for what it offers compared to other areas of the country. We have a very modern fleet of aircraft and are the largest operator of the latest generation AW139, AW189 and S-92 aircraft. AMTs like to work on current generation aircraft instead of the older Bell and Airbus models in the offshore oil and gas industry. We have a good mix of helicopters from single engines, light, medium and heavy twins in the United States that can offer lots of variety to our AMTs and that can also be a very rewarding aspect of their job.”

Money matters, and being a rotorcraft technician pays well. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary in 2020 for aircraft and avionics equipment mechanics and technicians was $66,680 per year and $32.06 per hour — a major selling point. And the job outlook (projected percent change in employment) from 2020 to 2030 for this career path is 11%; the average growth rate for all occupations is 8%.

Berger believes to make a helicopter mechanic a more attractive profession, “not unique to helicopter mechanics, but all professions, is quality of life and standard of living must improve–and not only salaries and benefits, but geographic locations as well. Mechanics often have to work night shifts and in remote locations far from family and friends.This is a tremendous challenge to attract new recruits.”

Another selling point is that rotorcraft mechanics can easily relocate, since there are jobs available virtually everywhere. “It offers worldwide opportunities, and for someone who doesn’t mind traveling, there are plenty of companies which have daily operations around the globe,” Noble said. “The helicopter community is smaller than the airplane community, but the jobs and tasks to be completed by rotorcraft are plentiful and require continuous operations. Aircraft maintenance provides an overwhelming sense of accomplishment especially when coupled with a mission set that saves lives, fights fires, provides community security, or many of the other helicopter profiles. I am certified to fly just about anything — multiengine airplanes, single engine airplanes, and helicopters — but the certificate I am most proud to carry in my pocket is the FAA Certificate that says I am an aircraft mechanic.”

As the world’s aircraft become more sophisticated, so too do the avionics that control them. This is why avionics repair/replacement providers are keeping up with technology trends that are changing the fundamentals of flight.

Change Abounds

To say the least, there are many technology trends that avionics repair providers are responding to. “They include increased remote diagnostics capabilities to service avionics in distant AOG (Aircraft on Ground) situations, methods to decrease turnaround times to return avionics to service sooner, and increased capabilities to support expedited projects,” said Don Milum. He is Director of North American Sales for Universal Avionics. “We are also fielding upgrades and replacements of older, less reliable avionics units as a means of reducing the overall requirement for repairs in total,” Milum said. Overall, “our connectivity solutions can reduce nav database loading time by 75%.”

Headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, Universal Avionics’ product/serving portfolio includes Flight Management Systems, Display Systems/Glass Cockpit [Insight], Enhanced Flight Vision Systems (ClearVision], Data Communications, Recorders [Kapture], Databases, and Flight Deck Connectivity.

Universal Avionics is also applying breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, remote diagnostics and augmented reality to its avionics repair procedures and processes. These software tools are being combined with connectivity troubleshooting and maintenance data compilation that can be sent back to the avionics OEMs for advanced diagnostics. “The shop can pinpoint issues before a unit is actually sent back for repair, thus reducing the time for the overall repair/support process,” Milum said.

Honeywell Aerospace is also keeping abreast of the latest avionics’ technological trends, with the goal of leveraging whatever benefits they have to offer. A case in point: “At a subcomponent level, we are continuously evaluating different applications of technology whether it is thermal imaging or JTAG technology,” said Jason Bialek, Honeywell Anthem product line director, Honeywell Aerospace.” Overall, Honeywell remains focused on robust testing capabilities that ensure the reliability and safety of our products,” he said.

With its headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, Honeywell Aerospace is the largest division of the Honeywell conglomerate. Honeywell Aerospace products and services are found on virtually every commercial, defense and space aircraft. The Aerospace business unit builds aircraft engines, cockpit and cabin electronics, wireless connectivity systems and mechanical components.

Because Honeywell Aerospace is also an avionics OEM, the company is addressing the aviation market’s demand for more advanced inflight avionics directly. This is why it launched its new Honeywell Anthem flight deck system in October 2021.

“Honeywell Anthem is the first cockpit system in the industry to be built with an always-on, cloud-connected experience that improves flight efficiency, operations, safety and comfort,” said Bialek. “The Honeywell Anthem flight deck offers unprecedented levels of connectivity, an exciting and intuitive interface modeled after everyday smart devices, and a highly scalable and customizable design.” This product is based on a flexible software platform that can be customized for virtually every type of aircraft and flying vehicle, he added. They include large passenger and cargo planes, business jets, helicopters, general aviation aircraft, and advanced air-mobility (AAM) vehicles.

At Flying Colours Corporation in Peterborough, Ontario, (Canada), improving inflight connectivity is an increasingly important part of their avionics business. (The company also provides MRO services, completions, refurbishments, special mission modifications, exterior paintwork, and aircraft transaction support for fixed wing and rotary business aircraft types.)

“Our work predominantly focuses on mid- to large-size jets: We find the Gogo AVANCE L3/5 inflight connectivity technology is proving very popular with a lot of owners who fly predominantly in North America,” said Kevin Kliethermes, Flying Colours’ sales director. “We’ve also recently completed installing Ka-band satellite connectivity technology on a Challenger aircraft type, which is a first for us. We’ve installed many on super mid-size aircraft, but this is the first time we’ve installed the powerful broadband offering on a super midsize aircraft. We anticipate this will become a more regular request as we find more and more customers do not want to fly without connectivity.”

I Flying Colours is modernizing other avionics systems on its clients’ aircraft as well. “In terms of upgrading flight decks, the Collins Pro-Line Fusion solution is giving a new lease on life to older aircraft,” Kliethermes said. “The Collins Venue Cabin Management System is proving popular with our customers too. We’ve been working closely with Alto Aviation to optimize its installation. Alto Aviation’s controls are specifically designed to fit into previous switch panel location holes. This results in a CMS upgrade that maximizes client budget and reduces installation time significantly.”

These kinds of avionics modernizations make good sense at a time when older, less sophisticated avionics systems are becoming harder to maintain. “Component obsolescence appears to be the biggest challenge with avionics these days,” said Bill Arsenault. He is president of Mid-Canada Mod Center in Mississauga, Ontario, which provides turnkey avionics installations and repairs to a wide variety of corporate and commercial customers. “Parts to repair older equipment are becoming more difficult to get,” Arsenault explained. “This is driving more avionics upgrades. However, manufacturers do not have modern solutions available for every case.”

Mid-Canada’s core business is custom avionics upgrades. They offer avionics upgrades such as major cockpit retrofits, internet connectivity and navigation system enhancements to a wide variety of business and commercial customers.

One last tech trend being addressed by the avionics repair/replacement sector is the shortage of up-to-date skilled technicians. Honeywell Aerospace is addressing this problem through various innovations. “We need technicians to be able to reach proficiency quickly, so it will be important to simplify the training and product diagnostic process,” said Bialek. “To make this happen, Honeywell is exploring digital training and collaborative tools, as well as technologies that accelerate the troubleshooting process.”

The Pros and Cons of COVID

For the past two years, the work being done by avionics repair/replacement providers has been performed in the shadow of COVID-19. And for once, the news related to the pandemic’s impact isn’t all bad.

In the case of avionics repair and replacement, “the pandemic caused a surge in private aviation, driving demand for more aircraft than was/is available,” Milum said. “This has meant that airframes that have fallen out of favor over the last several years due to avionic obsolescence and rising repair costs have found new life by owners upgrading their avionics in total. Legacy equipment is being replaced to improve dispatch rates and operational compliance in all areas of airspace around the globe, which is our wheelhouse.”

This being said, avionics repair and replacement providers faced their own challenges for the past two years. According to Bialek, “the COVID-19 pandemic has affected companies in every sector, and Honeywell is no exception. However, while the current pandemic deeply affected the aviation industry in 2020, we’ve seen a steady recovery since, and we are confident in the industry’s long-term growth potential.”

“COVID has created challenges on many fronts,” said Mid-Canada’s Arsenault. To cope with them, “keeping our staff and customers safe has been our core strategy from the start of the pandemic. This strategy has kept us from having infections spread in our workplaces. However, this has increased our costs, which for the most part we have not passed on to our customers. As well, the more recent supply chain issues caused by the pandemic are increasing lead times on parts and components, and causing work delays and disruptions.”

Being an aircraft repair station, Flying Colours was deemed an essential service by the authorities in the USA, Canada and Singapore. As a result, it was exempted from lockdowns in its respective locations, and was able to keep providing a full range of services to its clients worldwide.

“Our work has continued, although some customers have delayed work — such as those owning aircraft in Europe who have been restricted on flying due to changing travel restrictions,” Kliethermes said. “Other customers have moved their maintenance schedules forward: As regular flying was restricted, they used that downtime to undertake maintenance work. This work regularly includes SATCOM/connectivity upgrades, as we always advise our customers to install systems that will remain current for years to come.”

“We reworked our organization so that our shifts enabled us to keep working while sticking to the government guidelines,” he added. “We produce many of the components that are installed ourselves, which means we were less reliant on the supply chain than many companies. This allowed us to keep finishing projects on time.”

Looking Ahead

When avionics repair/replacement providers are asked to look to the future, they respond by looking past COVID to a big picture issue — namely the evolving state of avionics repairs/replacements as modern aircraft become ever more complex and autonomous.

For Universal Avionics’ Don Milum, the future is fraught with positive possibilities. They include “the implementation of remote diagnostics and troubleshooting that requires connectivity, and better obsolescence management,” he said. Milum also expects to see analytics being used for avionics trend monitoring and reports “to help the DOM improve life cycle management, maintenance predictions, and repair activities.” He also predicts that “automated tested equipment (ATE) will arrive as well, allowing more effective management of part configuration changes while reducing avionics maintenance.”

Honeywell’s Jason Bialek foresees “the potential of integrating serial number level maintenance history and reason-for-removal data as more feasible in an increasingly digital MRO environment.” He added that, “this will help technicians troubleshoot more efficiently to get products back to our customers. It will also be important to incorporate the right test points into products to streamline the troubleshooting process, and we will continue to refine automation and diagnostics in our test procedures to gain accuracy.”

Mid-Canada’s Bill Arsenault is looking forward to the possibilities outlined by Milum and Bialek. “More integrated and smarter avionics systems will only become easier to troubleshoot and repair, in my opinion,” he said. “Onboard diagnostic equipment helps the technician zero in on faults and potential causes.”

Meanwhile, Flying Colours’ Kevin Kliethermes sees the increasing abilities of avionics equipment driving regulatory demand for their mandatory use in aircraft, which will drive technological progress in this area further still.

“As aircraft systems become more complex, and more mandates are introduced though the NEXT GEN mandates — and flight deck navigation, safety and situational requirements like FANS and CPDLC datalink communications come into play — aircraft will need to be equipped to provide these services to fly within regulatory requirements,” said Kliethermes. “Connectivity is already important, but looking to the future it will be an essential part of the aircraft, with OEMs installing the relevant equipment during production. This affects all areas of avionics and our work will become more focused on repairing integral systems rather than retrofitting more up-to-date systems in the aftermarket sector.”

“Basically, there will be much more connectivity to and from the aircraft for the flight deck and passengers and this will be the prime focus going forward,” he observed. “Data management and how the avionics systems manage this will become more important, along with the need to protect this data through cyber security elements.”

Taken as a whole, avionics repair/replacement providers are dealing with a host of challenges as they weather the forces of technological change, COVID-19, and supply chain shortages. But based on the upbeat attitude of those providers who spoke with Aviation Maintenance for this story, they are embracing these challenges as opportunities for growth — and better service to their aviation customers.

Former NTSB and FAA investigator Jeff Guzzetti explains how seemingly small maintenance errors can lead to tragic circumstances, especially in helicopters.

System or component failures are among the most common defining events for fatal accidents in helicopters. Sadly, the circumstances of new accidents are often similar to those of previous ones, suggesting that some mechanics are not taking advantage of the lessons learned from such tragedies.

Five years ago, while working in FAA’s accident investigation division, I crossed paths with the investigations of two fatal accidents, occurring two months apart, and involving two Bell helicopters that were manufactured within a two-year period. In the end, both crashed due to improper maintenance and a lack of grease on a drive shaft. You can’t make this stuff up.

Pearl Harbor

The first crash occurred in Hawaii on the morning of February 18, 2016, when a Bell 206B, operated by Genesis Helicopters, was in the middle of a Part 91 air tour flight around the island of Oahu with four passengers on board. The 35-year-old commercial pilot and former Army Black Hawk driver noticed a vibration throughout the cabin, so he cut the tour short and diverted toward the destination airport.

The vibration developed into a grinding noise and was followed by the main rotor low rpm warning light and an increase in engine rpm. The pilot initiated an approach to a grassy area near the shoreline next to the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center. He noticed people near his intended landing area, so he altered his course to land in the water close to the shore. The helicopter impacted the water, rolled over, and began to sink (see graphic 1). A few shocked bystanders jumped in to pull the pilot and three of the four passengers out of the water. Unfortunately, a 15-year-old boy was trapped inside and drowned.

Shortly after my office received the notification, a video of the accident surfaced on social media and went viral (https://youtu.be/0sTTGlqZDx0). I considered dispatching one of our senior FAA investigators to the accident, but Hawaii was a long way away, and the Honolulu FAA Flight Standards office had a very capable inspector who was already at the scene and working with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator in charge. We decided to support the investigation from afar.

Genesis Helicopters operated only one helicopter under a Part 91 Letter of Authorization (LOA) from the FAA to conduct air tours within 25 statute miles of the departure airport. It employed only four people: the owner, the pilot, a receptionist, and a maintenance “assistant.” At the time, FAA policy stated that FAA should conduct inspections of 10% of all Part 91 air tour operators with an LOA, which could include ramp inspections, aircraft records review, or airworthiness directive compliance. The FAA inspector assigned to Genesis was interviewed by NTSB and stated that he had not completed a ramp inspection of the company since being assigned to it three months prior, but was trying to schedule a visit. Ironically, on the morning of the accident, he called the owner to schedule a records inspection but was unable to reach anyone.

Drive Shaft Separation

The pilot stated that he was descending to land when it felt like the main rotor stalled and the helicopter “fell out of the sky” about 20 feet from touchdown. The Bell 206B was built in 1979 and was powered by a single Allison 250-C20B turboshaft engine. It was removed from the water, rinsed with fresh water, and taken to a secure location for examination.

The wreckage exam showed no problems with the engine. However, the drive shaft section from the engine to the transmission was found separated at the transmission side (see graphics 2 and 3 previous page). Interviews with the accident pilot, the owner of the company, and the non-rated “maintenance assistant” revealed that maintenance had recently been conducted on the engine-to-transmission drive shaft, even though this work was not recorded in the helicopter’s maintenance records. In addition, the owner, who was a rated mechanic, was not present the entire time of the removal, inspection, and reinstallation of the drive shaft. To make matters worse, the maintenance records revealed no entries for a current annual or 100-hour inspection, and several required component inspections were overdue.

The drive shaft was sent to the NTSB Materials Lab in Washington, one block away from my office. The metallurgical exam revealed that the forward coupling of the drive shaft did not appear to be lubricated and had been exposed to high temperatures. The external spline teeth on the inner portion of the coupling were worn down to the bottom landings, while comparatively minor wear marks were observed on the mating teeth of the forward outer coupling (see graphics 4 and 5). The asymmetry in the wear pattern, combined with the observations of elevated temperatures, indicated that the assembly likely failed by overheating from a lack of lubrication. This resulted in softening and subsequent failure of the spring that centers the coupling. When the spring failed, the coupling shifted forward, damaging the forward end of the outer coupling, fracturing the forward cover plate, and wearing the external spline teeth down to the bottom landings. Following the failure of the drive shaft, the engine continued to operate, but was not able to drive the main rotor.

The NTSB opined that when maintenance was last conducted on the drive shaft, grease was not applied to the forward coupling as specified in the manufacturer’s maintenance manual. The NTSB probable cause was “the in-flight failure of the engine-to-transmission drive shaft due to improper maintenance, which resulted in low main rotor rpm and a subsequent hard landing to water.” The NTSB also cited numerous findings in the investigation, such as the operator’s failure to conduct scheduled and routine maintenance checks, and the lack of robust FAA requirements to oversee Part 91 air tour operations. That last finding troubled me, because the FAA would have likely caught the operator’s maintenance failures if it were required to operate under more stringent Part 135 commercial rules.

Great Smoky Mountains

Two months later, in April 2016, another Bell 206 helicopter was destroyed when it impacted terrain while maneuvering near Pigeon Forge, Tenn. Tragically, the 1,300-hour commercial pilot and all four passengers were killed. Just prior to the accident, a ground witness observed the helicopter at a low altitude in a descent and noted that it sounded unusual. He then heard the engine go silent, followed by the sound of the impact. The helicopter was operated by Great Smoky Mountain Helicopters, another small Part 91 air tour operator with a fleet of two ships (see graphic 6). The accident ship was built in 1977, two years before the birth of the Hawaii helicopter that had just crashed.

We now had two helicopters, built two years apart, and crashing two months apart, each during Part 91 air tours. My concern grew. Fortunately, the investigator in my office who was on call to launch on the next significant accident was Matt Rigsby, arguably the most knowledgeable helicopter safety expert in the FAA. As a former investigator for Bell Helicopters and aerospace engineer at the FAA’s Rotorcraft Directorate, Matt is well-known in the helicopter community. He booked a flight to Knoxville, rented a car, drove about an hour to the crash site and met up with two senior NTSB investigators (see graphic 7).

The investigators identified the initial tree strike about 400 feet south of the main wreckage on top of a 1,100-foot-high ridge. Pieces of Plexiglas and a section of the front-left skid tube were found near the tree strike. The debris path continued from the top of the ridge to the bottom, where the main wreckage was found, mostly consumed by a post-crash fire. In his nightly update, Matt remarked that the damage to the main and tail rotor blades indicated low rotational energy consistent with unpowered ground impact damage.

Fuel Pump

The fuel pump was removed from the engine accessory gearbox and disassembled (see graphic 8 previous page). Removal of the drive shaft revealed that its small splines, which are normally mated to the internal splines of the fuel pump drive gear, exhibited evidence of severe damage and worn spline teeth. The drive shaft spacer exhibited thermal distress and indentations consistent with contact with the internal splines of the drive gear (see graphics 9 and 10). Disassembly of the engine fuel pump revealed anomalous and accelerated spline wear that was severe enough to prevent the fuel pump from delivering fuel to the engine, resulting in a total loss of engine power.

The illustrated parts list for the fuel pump’s component maintenance manual (CMM) allowed for 11 different sizes of drive shaft spacers. According to the CMM, measurements taken during assembly of the pump’s drive shaft are used to select the proper spacer thickness. The spacer installed on the accident pump drive shaft was about 0.240 inches thick (see graphic 10). However, the original 1985 build record from the pump manufacturer indicated a spacer with only half that thickness was installed.

Review of maintenance logs revealed that the helicopter and engine had accumulated 22,562 hours and 8,550 hours respectively at the time of the accident. The helicopter had been operated for about 40 hours since its most recent and concurrent 100-hour and annual inspections. The engine fuel pump was installed seven years prior to the accident and had accumulated 1,078 flight hours since its last overhaul at that time, which was performed at a facility in Colorado in accordance with the CMM. No anomalous findings were recorded. The overhaul interval was 4,000 hours, so, in theory, the pump should have been in good condition. What happened?

In its final report, the NTSB stated that the wear on the splines of the fuel pump drive shaft was likely accelerated due to a lack of grease. Remnant material on the splines was consistent with grease being present on the shaft at one time, but it could not be determined if it was from the last overhaul or an earlier one. Additionally, drive gear spline impressions on the drive shaft spacer were consistent with an erroneously selected spacer. The incorrectly sized spacer likely resulted in a gap between the spacer and drive gear that provided a path for grease on the splines to escape. The investigation could not determine when the incorrectly sized spacer was introduced into the fuel pump assembly.

The NTSB determined the probable cause was “an inflight loss of engine power due to a failure of the engine fuel pump, which … resulted from the absence of adequate grease…” As with the Hawaii accident that occurred two months prior, the absence of grease on a spline shaft led to a fatal accident.

Lessons Learned

As stated in a recent safety alert and video produced by the NTSB and HAI, “helicopter safety starts in the hangar.” Proper maintenance procedures and inspections are particularly critical for helicopters because of their mechanical and operational complexity. A lack of vigilance in performing maintenance tasks, or in verifying that the work was done correctly, can lead to accidents. So, what can maintenance technicians do? Here are a few suggestions:

• Carefully follow the manufacturer’s instructions and manuals when performing a task to ensure that the work is completed as specified.

• Have a qualified person, other than the person who performed the maintenance, inspect critical items that have received maintenance. Ask questions if something is unfamiliar.

• Use work cards to document maintenance steps. If none are available, consider developing them from available maintenance manuals.

• Be thorough when performing routine inspections.

• Keep yourself and your maintenance staff educated and trained. Read up on the many resources from the FAA, such as Advisory Circular AC 43-13-1B, and keep abreast of the findings from helicopter accidents.

Tell us about your background and how your previous roles at Collins inform your work in sustainability.

Prior to becoming vice president of sustainability for Collins in October 2021, I served as vice president of our Information Management Services business (formerly ARINC) for three years. This business is integral to Collins’ sustainability efforts because it enables us to use real-time data and predictive technologies to optimize flight routes and use less fuel. Our recent acquisition of FlightAware, which we combined with the IMS business to form our new Connected Aviation Solutions business unit, has enhanced our ability to improve route efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint of air travel even further.

Previously, I also led the integration of B/E Aerospace, which is now part of Collins’ Interiors business. Here too, sustainability has been a key factor as we worked to produce lighter components across the Interiors portfolio. For example, use of advanced materials has enabled us to manufacture seats and monuments that offer up to 38% weight reduction compared to the previous generation.

Why is sustainability important to Collins Aerospace?

At Collins Aerospace, we believe that sustainability isn’t a choice — it’s an imperative. Quite simply, we must all do our part to reduce our environmental impact. And it’s not just a priority for us, but for all our stakeholders as well — including our customers, our employees, our shareholders, our regulators and the flying public.

As a leader in technologically advanced and intelligent solutions for the global aerospace and defense industry, we are in a unique position to make a positive impact on the future. Our resources, knowledge and experience give us a greater grasp of the challenges ahead — and above. This is a once-in-lifetime opportunity to transform air travel as we’ve known it.

With the coronavirus situation dragging on with the omicron variant, why is sustainability still important right now?

Collins has committed to support the aviation industry’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 as part of the declaration released by the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG). While that goal is still roughly 30 years away, the plans to achieve it are predicated on taking action now. The more we do in the near term, the easier it will be. Conversely, the longer we delay, the more the problem will be compounded and, ultimately, the harder it will be to solve as the curve only gets steeper over time. It’s inevitable that other, significant industry challenges like COVID-19 will arise and demand our attention as well, but we must keep our focus on sustainability at the same time. This is a huge challenge and a great opportunity. With aviation being a “hard to abate sector,” we must get started now.

What are some of the goals and timelines Collins Aerospace has set in relation to sustainability?

To support the aviation industry’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, we have several initiatives under way to advance enabling technologies as part of our sustainability technology roadmap, including:

• Connected Ecosystem – Creating more connected solutions for aircraft that use real-time data and predictive technologies to optimize flight routes and use less fuel, and developing artificial intelligence-based flight optimization and aircraft routing tools that leverage airspace information, atmospheric data, aircraft state and performance databases for dynamic route optimization.

• Alternative power sources – Working together with our sister Raytheon business, Pratt & Whitney and the Raytheon Technologies Research Center, we are supporting the development of hybrid-electric and all-electric propulsion systems. At the same time, we are designing More Electric aircraft systems to replace traditional hydraulic and pneumatic systems, thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions. And we’re bringing new systems onboard aircraft that can accommodate sustainable aviation fuel.

• Advanced structures – Creating lighter, streamlined and more fuel-efficient architectures for aerostructures by using technologies that include thin acoustic structures, low-drag liners and environmentally friendly coatings to reduce drag.

• Integrated solutions – Our breadth of tip-to-tail solutions provides us with unique opportunities to combine systems across our portfolio. For example:

• Integrated aircraft doors – Smaller and lighter one-piece door structures for a more efficient use of space on the aircraft.

• Power thermal management solutions – In collaboration with Pratt & Whitney and the Raytheon Technologies Research Center, we paired advanced systems architectures with digital engine controls in new ways to increase vehicle thermal capabilities, reduce fuel burn, and lighten overall aircraft weight, all while optimizing engine performance.

Recently Collins acquired Dutch Thermoplastic Components (DTC). How does this acquisition help meet your sustainability goals?

DTC is a leader in the development and fabrication of structural thermoplastic composite parts. By acquiring them, we expanded our ability to use advanced thermoplastics to make lighter aircraft components for our customers, ultimately helping support lighter aircraft that are more fuel-efficient. With thermoplastic composites, we can potentially reduce the weight of aircraft structures by 20 to 50% compared to thermoset solutions and metallic solutions respectively.

In addition to improved product performance, thermoplastics are also more sustainable to manufacture. By using traditional materials like thermosets, aircraft parts are cured in large autoclave ovens that consume a massive amount of energy. With thermoplastic composites, we are using more efficient out-of-autoclave processes that greatly reduce energy usage. Switching from thermosets to thermoplastic composites also adds to energy efficiency as cold storage of thermoset materials is eliminated. Thermoplastic composites have higher resistance to impact and fatigue compared to thermosets. This means that parts will last longer, a key to future circular economies. Finally, thermoplastic composite products are fully recyclable at the end of their lifecycle, meaning that they can be melted, reshaped, and reused.

Do you anticipate more acquisitions to help meet your sustainability goals? If so, what will you be looking for in terms of a potential acquisition?

We’re always open to strategic acquisitions that make sense and augment our sustainability technologies. FlightAware and DTC are both good examples of this.

Talk about Collins Aerospace’s commitment to research and development in sustainability. Give examples of programs the company has implemented as a result of R&D in this area.

Collins’ annual research and development exceeds $3 billion, the vast majority of which supports technologies that drive improved sustainability. For example, as part of our Electrified Aircraft initiative, we’re developing electric motors for hybrid-electric propulsion systems. These systems, which combine fuel-burning engines with electric motors and batteries, can significantly improve aircraft fuel efficiency and lower carbon dioxide emissions, while also reducing noise and operating costs. It is estimated that large commercial and regional aircraft can reduce fuel burn by approximately 5% and 30%, respectively, when implementing hybrid-electric propulsion architectures.

Last summer, Pratt & Whitney Canada announced plans to integrate new hybrid-electric propulsion technology into a De Havilland Canada Dash 8-100 flight demonstrator. Pratt’s fuel-burning engine will be combined with 1 megawatt electric motor from Collins in a hybrid configuration that will optimize engine performance throughout the different phases of flight and demonstrate potential fuel savings of around 30%.

Collins has also teamed up with U.K.-based Hybrid Air Vehicles and researchers at the University of Nottingham on the world’s first zero-emission aircraft, Airlander 10. To achieve zero-emission operation, Airlander 10’s four fuel-burning engines will be replaced by 500 kilowatt electric motors provided by Collins. This will happen in a phased approach, beginning with the two forward engines in 2025 to achieve hybrid-electric operation, and the two rear engines in 2030 for zero emissions.

With the support of the French government and local communities, and in collaboration with local industry, we’ve also made a significant investment in Collins Propeller Systems in Figeac, France. The center’s mission is to find innovative ways to design and manufacture more sustainable, next-generation propeller systems for turboprop, engine-powered aircraft. Whether propeller-enabled engines are burning sustainable fuel or hydrogen in the future or are replaced with electric motors or hybrid-electric systems, propeller aircraft can play a large role in reaching fleet sustainability goals.

How are you incorporating your clients’ input into your sustainability goals?

We have conducted a Materiality Assessment to understand the sustainability priorities of our stakeholders, including not only customers, but investors and the communities we serve. In 2019, we joined 23 other leaders in aerospace, research organizations and associations across Europe to sign the Clean Sky 2 Joint Declaration of European Aviation Research Stakeholders to lead the way toward the decarbonization of aviation by 2050. In 2021, we signed the Letter of Intent (LoI) to join as a Founding Member of the currently forming Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking. As part of a unique, long-term collaboration with Airbus, Emirates Airlines, GE Aviation and Thales, and in partnership with the Dubai Future Foundation, we co-created Aviation X Lab to focus on technological innovations in aviation, including those enabling the next era of sustainable air travel.

There are many layers to sustainability. Can you talk about how you are addressing sustainability within your own facilities?

While we are working to develop more sustainable products, we are also focused on increasing the sustainability of our manufacturing operations. To that end, we are actively exploring and implementing solutions to reduce energy usage at our facilities, including:

• Solar energy is being utilized by seven sites worldwide to replace more than 3,898 MT CO2 and 4.3 million pounds of coal burned per year — equivalent to removing 855 passenger vehicles from the road annually.

• At our propeller facilities, in 10 years we have reduced our CO2 emissions by 45% while growing our business by 50% and our workforce by 20%.

• Improving our water management processes through rigorous oversight and conservation efforts. Depending on the geographic location of our sites and their natural environment, we optimize our production processes and reduce virgin water usage by recycling water and reusing reclaimed water and rainwater.

• Eliminating waste, championing reuse and recycling across our value chain to accelerate a more circular system. Recycling 94% of all waste generated.

• Since 2017, Collins has invested more than $35 million in the development of chemical alternatives. For example, we use Hexavalent Chrome processes on many of our products for wear and corrosion resistance. In response to maturing Global Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACh) regulations, we have qualified and placed into production Hexavalent Chrome-free alternative processes in our facilities in the EU and UK. These greener alternatives meet and/or exceed material performance of the Hexavalent Chrome processes being replaced.

What about sustainability in the air? How are you helping aircraft operators meet their sustainability goals? Does this include working on alternative power sources?

Alternative power sources are a key piece of our sustainability technology roadmap. In addition to electric propulsion, we’re also collaborating with Pratt & Whitney, our customers and industry partners to develop systems and solutions to enable 100% SAF-ready engines and aircraft. The breadth of Collins’ systems and technology across the aircraft also puts us in a unique position to collaborate with customers on hydrogen solutions.

In addition to our aforementioned technologies to help aircraft operators reduce weight and optimize fuel efficiency, Collins is also working to help reduce aircraft noise. By improving the acoustic-dampening performance of our nacelles, we can reduce the acoustic signature of aircraft engines. Creating higher-performing acoustic liners can extensively reduce the noise signature of the aircraft, which allows more efficient routing and opens more local airports to commercial flights.