Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 46

Michael B. Smith, 30, FOD Prevention Program Coordinator, Pratt & Whitney, Columbus, GA

ichael Smith grew up across the street from Columbus
Metropolitan Airport. As a child he was enamored by the
sound and power of the jets that would routinely fly by. Aflac
has their headquarters there and the company's executives used
to fly a Dassault Falcon 50 in and out; FedEx flew a Boeing 727.
"I came to love the sound and watching planes became somewhat of an obsession for me," Smith says. "In addition, there
used to be an annual airshow, Thunder in the Valley. As a child,
that was the only time I got to get up close and personal with
airplanes and so it was like a second birthday every year. I was
very fortunate to have the opportunity as an adult to give back
and volunteer my time and work with the airshow for its last
two years of operation - that was a very rewarding experience."
Smith's career in aviation started with the US Navy as a powerplant mechanic. He graduated from Pensacola in April 2009
and got orders to VP-30 at NAS Jacksonville, FL working on the
mighty P-3C Orion, now his favorite airplane, and just missed
conversion to the Boeing P-8A. From there he moved to Norfolk,
VA with VAW-121 working on Hawkeyes, where he completed
two deployments aboard CVN-69 USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.
"I elected not to reenlist and instead came home to Columbus
where I was quickly hired by Pratt & Whitney's Columbus Engine
Center as a final inspector," he notes. "I did this job for just

over three years before taking a new role as
the FOD prevention program coordinator in
2016. In my current role, I manage our FOD
program, ensuring we are properly protecting our customers product from induction
to shipment back to the customer."
A year prior to taking this role, Smith got
to a point where he missed working with
aircraft so he joined the Georgia Air National
Guard, again as an engine guy. The USAF required that he attend
their tech school which he did at Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls,
Texas. He completed a third deployment with his unit last year.
"I plan on starting my graduate next year with Embry Riddle,
M.S. in Human Factors," Smith shares. "Short term, I'd like to
continue my education and build a base of experience in conducting investigations and accident analysis. Long term, my plan is to
pursue employment with the FAA as a PMI or with the NTSB as a
safety investigator. As I understand, these can be very competitive
jobs. I also wouldn't mind working in research understanding
trends in aviation safety and coming up with solutions."
However, he says his ultimate dream job is to help restore and
maintain old warbirds.

Jason Barrett, 26, Repair Development Engineer, TurbineAero Repair, Tempe, AZ

he aviation industry is like equal parts mysticism and puzzle
for Jason Barrett, an allure that sucked him in.
"The aviation industry has complex systems and problems. To
work with aircraft engines and APU's is serious, thus meaningful.
It is a large industry with technology that spans from historical
to cutting edge and I've always been fascinated by the romance
of flight. Even after understanding the physics it seems magical," he explains.
Barrett holds a BSE in Mechanical Engineering Systems with
a secondary emphasis in Physics from Arizona State University,
and it was while in college that he got into the aviation field.
"The summer before and throughout my final semester of
college, I was an engineering intern at TurbineAero. I was then
brought on in a permanent position in March 2018 and was moved
from the APU MRO shop to the component repair shop that June
2018. I am responsible for process improvement, development
of repairs, dispositioning of non-conforming materials, quoting
new processes, and providing technical support to special processes and machining operations, but I consistently step outside
my role to offer assistance in any way needed to improve the
business." Barrett said.
"One of Jason's best assets is his intellectual curiosity. His
drive to seek out the root cause of a problem and ensure sus-

46 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

tainable solutions to maintenance issues has
contributed to significant improvements and
improved levels of customer satisfaction. For
example, when asked to support a 60-yearold legacy part for a critical customer, he
worked with the customer to better understand their needs and worked with operators
to gather tribal knowledge in effort to explore
improvement options. His efforts resulted in
a TAT reduction of 70 percent and 15 percent labor and cost reduction," said Chuck Ayala, director of engineering at TurbineAero
Engines Technics, when nominating Barrett.
Barrett says his career goals are to "continue to learn and feed
my insatiable curiosity. I will progress in my role and will go on
adopting more responsibilities as available. With my commitment to my profession, coworkers, and customers I will persist
in strengthening TurbineAero."
And he says he gives back to the aviation industry by "seeking out young engineering talent, innovate using creative solutions to new and existing problems, contagiously spread my
enthusiasm for the industry and also support encourage and
recognize the talent and efforts of my coworkers. I consider
everyone a mentor."

AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY

Aircraft Maintenance Technology

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