On April 28, PAMA recognized its 2022 scholarship award recipients during the award ceremony at the Aerospace Maintenance Competition in Dallas.

The award recipients are as follows:

• Jonathan Roberts is an honors student in the Aviation Maintenance Technology program at Columbus State Community College in Columbus, Ohio, maintaining a 4.0 average. He has been on the Dean’s List every semester.  Mr. Roberts has glowing recommendations, including from the Federal Aviation Administration Safety Team (FAAST) Program Manager who describes Mr. Roberts as having impressed him with his intelligence, ability and professionalism.  Mr. Roberts works full time while attending college at night, is a military veteran and plans to use his A&P skills to serve the general aviation community and help repair and restore historical aircraft.
  Jonathan received a $1,500 scholarship, courtesy of JSfirm.com.
• Joel Mink is a straight A student at Oakbrook Academy in Florence, Kentucky scheduled to graduate high school in May of this year and begin his aviation maintenance training at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College in Cincinnati, Ohio in the fall.  He has already earned his private pilot certificate and his leadership abilities have been recognized by the Civil Air Patrol where he has been awarded several prestigious regional and national awards.  His letters of recommendation emphasize his determination, integrity and leadership skills. He plans to use his piloting knowledge to help him in his planned career as an Aviation Maintenance Technician. Joel received a $1,000 scholarship, courtesy of PistonPower™ by AEPC™.
• Anabel Rocha-Cole is a first-year student in the Aviation Maintenance and Technology program at Lansing Community College in Lansing, Michigan.  Despite being a first-year college student, she has already impressed her instructors with her abilities and determination.  She is also currently a ground handler at the Capital Region International Airport in Lansing and in training to become a customer service agent. She is bilingual and was educated in the US and Mexico, where her family were missionaries and where she herself participated in delivering supplies to needy communities in isolated mountain villages. Ms. Rocha-Cole plans to use her aviation maintenance skills to pursue her dream of helping aviation support missions in Haiti, Mexico and Africa. Anabel received a $1,000 scholarship, courtesy of PistonPower™ by AEPC™.

PAMA's scholarship committee was joined by representatives of the Aerospace Maintenance Council who presented their annual student awards as well (more on AMC award recipients here).

Congratulations to all our award recipients. Visit the scholarship page for more information on the application deadline for 2023, and to contribute to the PAMA scholarship fund.

This episode is about facts and their impact on the work of air crash investigators. Building a complete backstory with facts leads to an effective investigation.

Two recent accidents have few facts to work with. The available facts related to the 737 Max continue to be swept aside in favor of more headline-grabbing narratives.

John and Greg continue their effort to keep the focus on facts, conditions and circumstances to get to the real story of air crashes. These elements that lead to safety improvements.

They begin with a Cessna TU206 crash in Texas. Two pilots on board were killed when the plane crashed in a field. They discuss known details that could indicate striking something, a stall or lack of fuel.

A single pilot died when a Cessna 208 Grand Caravan used for a UPS cargo delivery contract crashed recently in Idaho. The plane landed inverted in a factory roof. Known facts included missed approaches, weather issues, and the importance of keeping on schedule.
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Focus turns to the two commercial aviation accidents involving the 737 Max. John and Greg address listener comments related to the crashes, the planes, and Boeing. They cover the fallout from the Boeing-McDonnell Douglas merger and how that impacted the timeline for the plane’s certification.

John, Greg and special guest Geoffrey Thomas offer the facts about Boeing and the 737 Max. They call out the sensationalism of the Netflix documentary “Downfall” and dig into facts that offer dig into facts that offer the real story with Boeing. They offer a true picture of the airline and issues that led to the Lion Air and Ethiopian crashes.

Geoff is a world-renowned multi-award-winning writer, author, and commentator and editor-in-chief at AirlineRatings.com. He is an outspoken no-nonsense critic of many aspects of airline management, technological issues related to aviation, and those related to safety and the environment.

Facts aren’t sexy, they agree, but the safety of everyone from industry to government to the public depends on understanding the real backstory.
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The episode covers factors that influence operations of Boeing and other aircraft manufacturers. The role of Boeing’s acquisition of McDonnell Douglas is discussed. They separate facts from emotion to show that business pressures can sideline safety needs.

Greg and John dive into the latest details emerging about the China Eastern Flight 5735 crash on March 21. They also cover the backstory and impact of the Aerospace Maintenance Competition coming April 25-28.

The Chinese Government has allowed the NTSB to assist as technical advisors in investigating the China Eastern crash. Greg and John talk about what that means for getting to the facts.

They share insights from previous accidents with similar themes to this crash, including the documented repair of a previous tail strike on the aircraft and incidences of deliberate crashes.

Their sights turn to the upcoming maintenance competition in Dallas in conjunction with Aviation Week Network’s MRO Americas. More than 80 teams from around the globe will compete this year.
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Teams represent educational institutions, commercial airlines, repair and manufacturing companies, general aviation and space. Up for grabs are prizes as well as bragging rights as the best of the best.