A professor at Blue Ridge Community College who started its Aviation Maintenance program has received a prestigious award from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Fred Dyen, Aviation Maintenance Program Director and professor at BRCC, has more than 50 years of service as an FAA-certified mechanic. He is the recipient of the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award. His name will be placed on the Roll of Honor for the award.

The award is named in honor of Charles Taylor, the first aviation mechanic in powered flight who is credited with designing and building the engine of the Wright Brothers’ first successful aircraft.
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“We are so proud of Dr. Dyen and of all that he has done for the aviation maintenance profession throughout his career,” BRCC President Dr. John Downey said. “This award recognizes his life-long commitment to educate and train the next generation of aviation maintenance technicians.”

Helicopters and offshore oil platform operations can be a deadly combination. John Goglia and Todd Curtis discuss two accidents to illustrate aviation safety concerns.

In a 2010 accident discussed, maintenance and managerial failures resulted in minor damage and no injuries because of the pilot’s skill. Another is a fatal accident that killed all on board due to the pilot not following the helicopter operator’s standard procedures for landing and taking off.

In the 2010 accident there were multiple missed inspections by mechanics and pilots over several days, including the accident flight. The poor maintenance effort led to system malfunctions that prevented the pilot from fully controlling the helicopter, forcing the pilot to make a running landing at about 45 knots.
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In a 2022 accident, the pilot landed away from the center of the helideck and the rear of the right skid was over the edge of the helipad and adjacent to a raised perimeter light. When the pilot took off, the right skid contacted a perimeter light, causing the helicopter to roll sharply to the right. The helicopter struck the helideck, rolled off the oil rig, and sank. The pilot has a documented history of not following takeoff and landing procedures on most of his flights to and from oil rigs.

Carson Valley resident James “Jim” Nunnelee was recently surprised by members of the Experimental Aviation Association at the Carson City Airport when representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration presented him with two significant awards that recognize over 50 years of aviation prowess.

Nunnelee received the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award and the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award on March 20.

Eligibility for both awards are for pilots and senior aviation mechanics who have at least 50 years of experience in being a pilot and operation; and in aviation maintenance industry, for the Master Mechanic Award, 30 of these years must have been served as an FAA-certified mechanic or repairman.
Only a handful of recipients have received

Federal Aviation Administration Safety Team Program Manager Larry Cheek said that in all his years of presenting the awards only a handful have received both. Only 3,470 people have received the Master Mechanic Award and 8,410 Wright Brothers Mater Pilot awards.

Nunnelee, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, began his aviation experience earning his student pilot certificate in April 1958. In November of the same year he earned his A&P Mechanic Certificate. Three years later he received his Private Pilot Certificate and in 1978 enhanced his aviation mechanics resume with his Inspection Authorization Certificate.

A pilot with many hours of experience and an instructor rating died following the bad decision to fly his newly purchased airplane without first understanding how the aircraft systems operate. He also did not review the logbooks or have the plane looked over after 10 years sitting idle.

The pilot had purchased a Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche. Key facts in the NTSB report and public docket show that the pilot did not have a pre-buy inspection, was not familiar with the aircraft’s systems, and ignored the advice of his friend and former CFI to not fly.

The pilot knew about a landing gear indication light problem before takeoff. He proceeded without resolving it or reviewing the appropriate emergency procedures for operating the landing gear. The plane stalled and crashed while he tried to troubleshoot the issue in flight.

In this analysis with John Goglia and Todd Curtis, Greg Feith shares that he is currently in the process of buying a used airplane. Like the accident pilot, the aircraft has not flown in several years. Unlike the accident pilot, he is working closely with an experienced mechanic to make the aircraft airworthy and to examine all systems on the aircraft.

Greg is frustrated with the quality of the decisions made by the pilot before and during the flight. He’s further critical of the NTSB’s analysis of this accident. The probable cause statement focuses on a stall that happened at the end of the flight rather than all the pilot actions before and during the flight.

“[The NTSB probably cause statement is] so vanilla. It is such a cop-out,” Greg says.
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This accident is a result of poor aeronautical decision-making by the pilot and the actions of others around the pilot who failed to assert proper safety practices.

H.E.R.O.S. Inc. has announced that Heros Kajberouni, founder of H.E.R.O.S. Inc., has been awarded the prestigious Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 

The award presentation took place at H.E.R.O.S. Inc.’s Chandler facility and was formally conducted by Craig Tompkins and Ernie Copeland of the FAA Safety Team from the Scottsdale, Arizona office.

The Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award is the FAA’s highest honor for aviation maintenance professionals. Named after Charles Taylor, the first aviation mechanic in powered flight and the man who built and maintained the engine for the Wright brothers, this award recognizes individuals who have exhibited exemplary dedication to the field of aviation maintenance for 50 or more years. 

Recipients must have held an FAA mechanic certificate for at least 50 years and have spent the majority of their careers promoting safety, craftsmanship, and technical skill within the aviation industry.
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Heros Kajberouni’s achievement is the culmination of over 53 years of relentless commitment to excellence, quality, and safety in aviation maintenance. His career stands as a model of what the Charles Taylor Award symbolizes: a lifelong passion for precision and integrity.

An experienced pilot with multiple ratings lost control of his Mitsubishi MU-2 aircraft and crashed after a missed approach. Greg Feith, Todd Curtis and John Goglia look at the facts surrounding this incident that killed six.

ADS-B information broadcast by the plane shows a missed approach followed by an unusual second attempt. Rather than flying the published missed approach, air traffic controllers were directing the pilot to take a series of right turns for a second approach.
The pilot was taking several members of his family to a holiday celebration, so the pilot may have chosen to fly a non-standard missed approach because it would take less time than the published approach.

Greg shares firsthand experience and knowledge of the performance of MU-2 aircraft. Several years ago, he evaluated MU-2 models for safety issues and found that many previous accidents in these models were due to issues with the pilot, not the aircraft.

This aircraft was being flown by a single pilot in IFR conditions. Flying single-pilot IFR in actual IFR conditions is a challenge for any pilot under normal circumstances. Temperatures were just above freezing at neighboring airports and there was snow in the area at the time of the crash. Icing and the presence of five passengers and their baggage may have degraded the aircraft’s performance.
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The pilot’s familiarity with the destination may be a factor. A review of flight records showed this was the first time the aircraft had flown to this airport in the previous six months.

On June 14, 2024 Clifford G. Johnson was presented with the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award for 50 years of ‘Dedicated Technical Aircraft Maintenance Service and Safety’ by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the American Airlines Tech Ops Department at LaGuardia Airport.

Clifford Johnson was born and raised in Corona, Queens. At an early age, he enjoyed assembling model airplanes, cars, and warships. He got his first job working in an auto parts store, and while working in the machine shop, he enhanced his mechanical skills. He applied and was accepted into the Aviation High School’s Aircraft Maintenance Program, where he excelled and was awarded a mechanic’s toolbox at graduation. After passing the test for his Powerplant License, Clifford was accepted into the extended 12th-year program at the high school, where he obtained his Airframe License to complete his Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) requirements.

After Aviation High School, Clifford started working as a baggage handler for Trans World Airlines (TWA). A year later, he transferred to aircraft maintenance at JFK International Airport’s Hangar 12, where he was a technician and supervisor. He worked with TWA from 1973 to 2001.

Between 1981 and 1984, TWA awarded Clifford a position that required him to relocate to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he trained maintenance technicians at Saudi Arabian Airlines. In addition to training staff and performing routine and non-routine assignments, he supervised and directed the maintenance operations on the Boeing 707, 737, 747, and Lockheed L1011 aircraft.