| COVID-19 Task Forces Must Have Aviation Industry Labor Representation |
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May 29, 2020 -- The COVID-19 pandemic has affected so many elements of our country and our world — and will affect the aviation ecosystem for years to come. Creating a workable plan for this “new normal” is crucial. Several federal agencies are putting together internal task forces, while Congress has proposed legislation enacting similar advisory groups, most notably the collaborative task force established by the Restoring Safety in the Skies Act introduced by Senators Markey (D-MA) and Blumenthal (D-CT) and supported by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA).
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| COVID-19 Safety Recommendations #2 |
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April 7, 2020 -- The Center for Disease Control (CDC) continues to study and learn about how Coronavirus (COVID-19) spreads. The CDC states recent studies suggest that people that do not show symptoms (asymptomatic) may still spread the virus, therefore, we should all be practicing social/physical distancing (a minimum of 6 feet) in order to reduce the spread of Coronavirus. According to another recently published study, backed by the National Institutes of Health, Coronavirus can survive up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel.
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| Airlines Must Take The Relief Grants To Help Their Employees |
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March 31, 2020 -- On March 27, Congress passed a massive financial package to relieve the unprecedented economic impact from the global COVID-19 pandemic, which the President signed into law. This includes targeted relief to airlines like the ones where our expert mechanics currently work, Southwest, Alaska and Horizon.
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| COVID-19 Safety Recommendations #1 |
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March 25, 2020 -- According to a recent published study, backed by the National Institutes of Health, Coronavirus (COVID-19) can survive up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel. With this knowledge, we recommend the following to help prevent the spread of the virus...
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| Memo: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update |
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March 19, 2020 -- Over the past several weeks, airlines and their employees have been under an enormous amount of pressure amid an ever-changing environment in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. AMFA leaders have been in communication with our carries on a regular basis and have been taking guidance from the CDC to ensure we are taking effective steps to combat the significant challenges posed by this pandemic.
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| Coronavirus (COVID-19) |
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March 12, 2020 -- By now everyone should be aware of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, here and abroad. As updates about COVID-19, are made daily, we encourage you to draw upon information and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Among the best practices recommended by the CDC are to thoroughly washing hands and avoid touching your face.
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| DOT Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy & Compliance Notice: CBD |
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February 18, 2020 -- Beware of CBD -- Please take the time to read the article in its entirety. All safety sensitive positions are subject to random drug testing. If you use CBD and subsequently test positive for THC, CDB use is NOT a legitimate medical explanation. Currently, THC levels in CBD are NOT certified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Department of Transportation urges caution when considering whether to use CBD products.
Click here to read more...
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| Press Release: The Safe Aircraft Maintenance Standards Act is a Huge Step Forward |
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November 15, 2019 -- Today House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) introduced The Safe Aircraft Maintenance Standards Act, calling for unannounced FAA inspections of foreign repair stations, minimum qualifications for mechanics and others working on U.S.-registered aircraft at foreign repair stations, data gathering and analysis, a conditional moratorium on FAA certification of new foreign repair stations, and requiring the FAA to a create an online repository for carriers to report heavy maintenance history by location and specific aircraft registration number, as well as other safety metrics.
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| What You Should Know About FAA Drug & Alcohol Testing Requirements |
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Every aircraft maintenance technician (AMT) licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has, most likely, been tested for drugs and/or alcohol at some point during their career. However, despite requiring submission to these tests, airlines tend not to explain the process or the substance of the testing programs.
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| Aviation Industry Whistleblower Stakeholder Meeting |
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October 14, 2019 -- On October 8, 2019, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) held a public meeting to solicit comments and suggestions from stakeholders on issues facing the agency in the administration of the whistleblower protection provisions under the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR21). OSHA is interested in obtaining information from the public on key issues facing the agency’s whistleblower program. AMFA National Safety and Standards Director Scott King was in attendance and had the opportunity to provide the following feedback to questions posed by OSHA...
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| Boeing 737 MAX Update |
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July 16, 2019 -- The Boeing 737 MAX was grounded by the FAA on March 13, 2019, and based on current information, will continue to be out of service until at least October. The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) has been monitoring the situation very carefully, and a very important question remains regarding to what degree we will be involved in the process of introducing the aircraft back into the Southwest Airlines fleet and into the Alaska Airlines fleet.
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| Boeing 737 MAX Update |
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July 16, 2019 -- The Boeing 737 MAX was grounded by the FAA on March 13, 2019, and based on current information, will continue to be out of service until at least October. The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) has been monitoring the situation very carefully, and a very important question remains regarding to what degree we will be involved in the process of introducing the aircraft back into the Southwest Airlines fleet and into the Alaska Airlines fleet.
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| Compliance Reminder |
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March 8, 2019 -- Many of our stations are still experiencing cold temperatures, snow, and rain. Be aware of warning signs for possible hypothermia and frostbite. Dress in layers and be aware of damp/wet clothing. Utilize headwear as large amounts of heat can escape through the head. In addition to low temperature, wind and humidity are additional factors to consider when preparing to work in cold weather conditions.
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| National Safety & Standards Director Letter to AMFA Membership |
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April 25, 2018 -- The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating last week’s tragic incident on Southwest Airlines Flight #1380 and our Southwest Airlines (SWA) Accident Investigation Team (AIT) Representatives are actively participating in the investigation. During the course of an active investigation we will not speculate or comment about the incident.
Download:
 Emergency_AD_2018-09-51.pdf
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| What is Just Culture? |
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February 14, 2018 -- Just Culture is a behavioral-based system that is designed to identify where vulnerability may exist in the event a task or duty has gone awry. To put it simply, this system utilizes a flowchart to determine the most likely cause of what may have led to the outcome of a particular event.
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| Compliance Reminder: Non-Compliance Awareness |
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September 19, 2017 -- On July 13, 2017, Southwest terminated an Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) for deviating from “all required procedures included in MT 735-00-01. The letter of termination indicates that the Company relied on surveillance tape to determine that the AMT may have allowed a second mechanic to sign for work that the AMT had performed: “security video evidences that a second AMT did not enter the area of the flight crew oxygen cylinder and therefore, required processes and/or procedures of MT 735-00-01 were not completed.”
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| Compliance Reminder |
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February 14, 2017-- Awareness has been raised regarding damage to cargo panels as there are several maintenance documents that direct Aircraft Maintenance Technicians (AMTs) to inspect the cargo compartment panels for damage. The primary concern when inspecting these panels is the aspect of fire containment. The Aircraft Maintenance Manual (AMM) gives damage limitations and should be consulted when investigating any damage that has been noted. At Southwest there are maximum damage limits within the B737NG AMM for damage that may be repaired. Attention to tape condition is also important in sealing the cargo compartments to minimize the oxygen amount.
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| Compliance Reminder: Compliance, Compliance, Compliance! |
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October 26, 2016 -- Why say it three times? Because repetition will lead to understanding the critical importance of its meaning. The dictionary defines compliance as the act of conforming, cooperation, obedience. With each action that you take while at work, the compliance element must be accounted for.
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| Compliance Reminder: Workplace Drug and Alcohol Policies |
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August 3, 2016 -- Since there has been increased employer activity lately in response to drug and alcohol policies, including some terminations, I would like to review some key points about this topic. All employees should review and become familiar with your employer’s Drug and Alcohol Policy. Employees are responsible for being free of alcohol and illegal/prohibited drugs and/or the metabolites of these drugs while at work/on duty.
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| Compliance Reminder: Awareness |
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June 6, 2016 -- There has been a lot of talk lately about our "Safety Initiative" and having to adjust our maintenance culture; the problem is that it seems that no one is listening. We not only have maintained status quo on this issue, but seemed to have gained in areas that we do not need to have growth – we have noticed an increase in aircraft damage. What is causing the increase? Can we blame the dirty dozen?
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| Compliance Reminder: Attention to Detail |
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In grade school I was always reminded to dot the i’s and cross the t’s, and in the military working on aircraft, I was always taught to remember the phrase "attention to detail." These two items are our biggest challenges in maintenance today as most of our Letter of Investigation (LOI) and Aviation Safety Awareness Program (ASAP) reports are responses to these concepts. I am referring to paperwork and undocumented maintenance.
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| Compliance Reminder: TSA Directives |
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There have been policy changes with the TSA in the past two months, and I wanted to clarify these changes for our members to prevent misunderstandings. I would first like to start with lithium ion batteries, especially the ones we carry in our tools such as drills, ratchets, and screw guns. The newly revised 49 CFR 175.10 states that you can have lithium ion batteries in checked or carry on baggage, however, all spare batteries are prohibited from checked baggage.
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| Compliance Reminder: Taxi Awareness |
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We recently had an incident involving two AMFA members while taxiing an aircraft that resulted in an aircraft being damaged. This incident has resulted in many conversations regarding what should or should not happen while taxiing an aircraft. This article in no way references the details of the above mentioned incident, rather its purpose is to clarify some of the proper procedures of taxiing an aircraft.
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| Compliance Reminder: Don’t Put Your License in Jeopardy |
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In the past several months we have had members involved in significant incidents that have resulted in not only losing their jobs, but also their livelihoods. By losing their licenses that they worked very long and hard to obtain, they also lost their livelihood. Part of the issue is that we are currently experiencing a lack of manpower and a workload that is too large to be completed in the allotted timeframe.
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| The 2015 Aerospace Maintenance Competition Results Are In |
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Team Southwest Airlines and Team Alaska Airlines, both AMFA represented carriers, won 1st and 3rd place respectively in the Commercial Aviation Category - congratulations!
The 2015 Aerospace Maintenance Competition (AMC) was held last week in Miami, Florida during the Aviation Week MRO Americas Convention. A multitude of teams competed in six different competition categories. There were aircraft maintenance technician teams from all over the world, from as far away as China, Australia, and New Zealand.
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| AMFA Member Prevails in AIR21 |
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Southwest Airlines and a Southwest mechanic have settled a “whistleblower” case in which the mechanic said the airline threatened to punish him for reporting fuselage cracks that grounded a Southwest airplane.Southwest on Jan. 16 agreed to pay $35,000 in attorney’s fees and expenses for mechanic Charles Hall, who discovered the cracks as he was doing a maintenance inspection on a Boeing 737-700 last July.
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| Compliance Reminder: Big Brother is Watching |
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What did George Orwell say in his book "1984?" He said that big brother was watching you as he describes a society where surveillance controls the citizenry. Well let me tell you, today we live in a similar society. We constantly hear on the news where individuals are caught on camera doing various things like driving infractions, illegal activities, delivering damaged packages, etc. We live in a society where we are being monitored and there are copies of what we are doing. This includes using the internet at home and at work. Why am I telling you this? I am neither a doom and gloom individual, nor a prepper that could be paranoid about the state of our nation, but I am talking about how the aircraft maintenance technicians that are just doing their jobs are affected by this type of surveillance.
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| Compliance Reminder: Situational Awareness |
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What is situational awareness and why is it so important to us as Aircraft Maintenance Technicians (AMTs)? It is defined as simply being aware of your surroundings and the conditions you are in. You must always consider where you are and what's going on around you. This requires a person or a group of people to assess and become aware of relevant factors in their current environment, consider any consequences of these factors, and foresee future implications. This means to be aware of the conditions in your work area and to recognize and address unsafe conditions before they become an issue.
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| Compliance Reminder: Safety Over Schedule |
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One of the most common themes for Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) Reports submitted from Aircraft Maintenance Technicians (AMTs) involve time constraints and pressure. It is not always a supervisor standing over us saying, "get the job done now," sometimes we as technicians put the pressure on ourselves. We need to realize this concept and correct the problem where it exists. This is where the idea of safety over schedule comes in to play.
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| Ebola Statement from the NEC |
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Many of you are aware of the news that the Ebola virus has been found in the United States, and others have recently contracted the disease. One of those affected people boarded a Frontier Airlines plane from Dallas, TX to Cleveland, OH. As our members are front-line employees with air carriers and subject to direct contact with aircraft and passengers, we felt it necessary to keep you informed.
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| Compliance Reminder: Is Safety Your Priority? |
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The crash of Continental Express Flight 2574, where missing screws on the horizontal stabilizer led to the disaster, was the most dramatic turning point for "safety culture" in the United States. The probable cause of this accident included "the failure of Continental Express management to establish a corporate culture which encouraged and enforced adherence to approved maintenance and quality assurance procedures." They placed far too much emphasis on getting airplanes to take off on time than correctly following safety procedures. As a result of this and other similar aviation accidents, what we now know as "safety culture" came to the forefront.
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| Letter from NEC Regarding Air21 |
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In the July edition of the Grapevine Newsletter we wrote extensively about AMFA’s safety initiative. AMFA believes wholeheartedly that safety is our number one priority. We sincerely understand that our craft’s relationship with the flying public is one of safety and dutifully stand by our mantra, “Safety in the air begins with quality maintenance on the ground.” To that end, this month, one of our members working for Southwest Airlines filed an AIR21 Whistle Blower complaint against Southwest Airlines under 49 U.S.C §42121 with the United States Department of Labor. In his complaint, the aircraft maintenance technician states that he was reprimanded for reporting maintenance issues that his Base Manager and Manager of Maintenance deemed “working outside of scope of assigned task.”
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| Compliance Reminder: AMT Danger Prevention |
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Aircraft Maintenance Technicians (AMTs) have an awesome responsibility entrusted to them, but it is also an inherently dangerous job. Many of us have heard of or seen close calls where injury or death was imminent. I would like to discuss some recent incidents.
In the mid 1990’s at Dee Howard, a MRO in Texas, an AMT was doing a routine card on the thrust reversers of a Boeing 757.
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| AMFA Comment to FAA Regarding Foreign Repair Station Drug Testing Requirements |
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The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) appreciates the opportunity to provide comment on the FAA advance notice of proposed rulemaking. AMFA supports the FAA effort to implement drug and alcohol testing requirements on foreign repair station employees. AMFA further supports a drug and alcohol testing framework that imposes equal standards on both foreign and domestic aircraft maintenance technicians. AMFA is the only craft specific, independent aviation union that represents over 3,000 aircraft maintenance technicians and related support personnel at Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlines as well as advocates on behalf of our craft.
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| Good Intentions + Lack of Knowledge = Fatal Consequences |
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FAA Maintenance Safety Tip-1404: Substituting a recommended compound with a non-recommended compound can have unintentional consequences. An example of this is when an operator substituted a lubricant with a non-lubricant during an installation of a threaded rod end.
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| Compliance Reminder: Be Safe, Work Safe, Stay Safe |
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It is important to discuss a couple of issues that we are having around our respective systems. The first one is the safety of the aircraft. We have had several aircraft damaged this year due to various reasons. Some of them are procedural problems where certain steps were not followed and damage resulted.
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| Compliance Reminder: Be Safety Compliant |
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I have been involved with safety for quite some time now and I still don’t understand why some people disregard it or say nothing severe will happen to them. A major concern of mine is with people working around hydraulics, particularly when they are moving and not locked out. Don’t stick your head in that Kruger flap, and don’t operate the TR's without being cleared.
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| Workaround and Risk Your License by John Goglia |
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As much as many of us have warned of the risks of mechanic workarounds they continue. The risks are both to the safety of the aircraft being maintained and the airman’s own license. We all know how workarounds develop - the paperwork a mechanic gets to work off of (maintenance manual procedures, job cards, service bulletins, etc.) is incorrect or the job is very time-consuming and the mechanic develops shortcuts which are supposed to accomplish the intent of the job, if not each literal step.
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| Compliance Reminder: Cover All The Bases |
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Who has the accountability in aircraft maintenance? The Aircraft Maintenance Technician (AMT) of course. Supervisors or fellow technicians who advise you how to accomplish a task are not responsible for what happens if it is done incorrectly. If maintenance is not done properly, it could result in an incident which will cause you to have to file an Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) report. The number one cause of ASAP reports or involvement with the FAA is failure to follow the maintenance manual.
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| Torqued: Brain Drain in Maintenance Sector Needs Another Look |
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Imagine seeing this headline: “Major Airline Uses Student Pilots on Passenger Flights.” There would be universal outrage and condemnation if an airline tried to put students in the cockpit on passenger-carrying flights–even if “just” to handle the radios or practice touching some of the controls in cruise flight. Slow as it is to react to some safety issues, even the FAA would be all over that airline in a millisecond.
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| Don’t Bother Me with the Facts! |
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An Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) hears their radio crackle. Maintenance Control wants them to evaluate damage to an aileron the crew of a departing aircraft detected. After reporting the extent of the damage to Maintenance Control they conclude the aileron damage is allowable, and the AMT defers it according to the company’s procedures. The aircraft departs on time. Later the AMT takes a second look at the structural repair manual, and learns the focus had only been on the allowable damage table. The team had not noticed the damage was, in fact, in a critical area that required them to consult the aircraft manufacturer. The AMT then realized they had inadvertently released the aircraft to fly with a potentially dangerous flaw. This was a team of very responsible, experienced, people. How can professionals make such a mistake?
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| Compliance Reminder: Doing More with Less |
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Our members have become accustomed to change, and we have certainly experienced our fair share of it in the past few years. One of the biggest changes is that companies are trying to operate status quo in a leaner environment. As technicians we are expected not only to do more with less, but we also have major changes in current practices to include paperwork, policies, and procedures.
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| FAA Press Release Update |
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WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Michael Huerta today announced that the FAA has determined that airlines can safely expand passenger use of Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) during all phases of flight, and is immediately providing the airlines with implementation guidance.
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| AMFA’s Position Statement on "Maintenance Personnel – Fatigue Related Issues" |
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The leadership and members of this Association understand the public’s trust in our profession and hold that trust in the highest regard. It is safety that drives our craft and serves as the basis for the relationship between us and the flying public. AMFA’s credo "Safety in the air begins with quality maintenance on the ground," is derived from the objectives outlined in our Constitution where a "Safety First" approach is emphasized. Recently, fatigue has been identified as one of the factors that can cause errors and AMFA is being proactive in our response to this issue.
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| Compliance Reminder: Safety Culture |
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There is a new phrase going around the safety community and it is “safety culture.” What is safety culture? Safety culture is the ways in which safety is managed in the workplace, and often reflects "the attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, and values that employees share in relation to safety."
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| Shoddy Workmanship Blamed for Tear in Boeing 737's Roof |
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A National Transportation Safety Board report blames shoddy workmanship for an in-flight tear in the roof of a Southwest Airlines plane in 2011. The Boeing 737-300 was en route from Phoenix to Sacramento, Calif., on April 1, 2011, when a 5-foot-long gash opened in the fuselage.
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| Boeing Now Has an App to Maintain Airplanes |
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Want to fix your 737? Yeah, there's an app for that. Boeing Co. said it's introducing a suite of mobile applications for the iPad to help airplane maintenance technicians with their jobs.
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| “Fly-Away” Tools! |
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It is sad to say there have been fatalities attributed to tools left in aircraft. Can you imagine the immense emotional impact - and the legal consequences - if your tool caused a loss of life? With a little common sense, attention to detail and time, you can avoid the dire consequences of leaving your tools where they might cause harm to innocent people.
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| SWA FL345 Accident Investigation Report |
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The AMFA Aircraft Accident and Investigation Team for Southwest Airlines (SWA) was recently called into service to investigate Flight 345 which took off from Nashville International Airport (BNA) in Nashville, TN and landed at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in Queens, NY. The nose gear collapsed upon landing and the passengers and crew were forced to evacuate.
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| Compliance Reminder |
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One of the dirty secrets of the airline industry is that maintenance managers regularly subordinate aviation safety to on-time performance. This ugly phenomenon arises from the fact that airlines rate their maintenance managers’ performance, not on their technicians’ proficiency in detecting safety items, but on keeping aircraft in revenue service.
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| AIN Blog: Torqued: FAA Must Get Its Act Together on ADs |
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How accurate should airworthiness directives be? Before you answer that question, let me give you an example of an actual AD applicable to the Airbus A318/319/320/321 and then you can decide whether the information provided is sufficient for a mechanic to perform the required maintenance properly. I know you’re not all mechanics, but I don’t think you need to be one to see the problem. And if you fly or maintain GA aircraft, and think this issue doesn’t apply to you, think again.
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| Compliance Reminder |
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In recent years our industry has experienced a change in management culture, an ever increasing focus on the personal bonus for management, and the demand for shareholders value prevailing over the welfare of American employees who are the one great asset of a company’s success.
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| The High Price of Cooperating with FAA, Investigations by John Goglia |
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My fellow mechanics this is a cautionary tale based on a true story that could have happened to almost any of us. The details are intentionally left fuzzy as the case winds itself through the FAA enforcement system. This tale begins more than three years ago when certain hapless mechanics were first questioned by an FAA inspector about maintenance they had performed.
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| Workarounds and AD Compliance Don’t Mix |
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As mechanics, we are all aware of how often incorrect paperwork – including maintenance manuals and work cards – force us to resort to workarounds to accomplish the job at hand. While the FAA recognizes that workarounds exist, it has never officially sanctioned them nor has it done much to correct the problems occasioned by incorrect procedures.
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Page Last Updated: May 29, 2020 (15:01:00)
