NEWS RELEASE
WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 2007 – The Air Transport Association of America (ATA), the industry trade organization representing leading U.S. airlines, in association with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), today recognized the recipients of the 2007 FAA-ATA Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) “Better Way” award.
The “Better Way” award recognizes a team of government and airline industry individuals who collaborated to advance inspection or testing of aircraft structure, components or systems. This award, jointly sponsored by the FAA and ATA, was presented today at the ATA Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) Forum in Orlando, Florida.
Industry and government professionals recognized with this prestigious award include: Todd Dunford, Dr. Neil Goldfine, Dr. Darrell Schlicker, Dr. Yanko Sheiretov, Vlad Tsukernik, Dr. Andrew Washabaugh, Dr. Mark Windoloski and Dr. Vladimir Zilberstein from Jentek Sensors; Mark Thomas, Rob Sutor, Joe Price and Jack Fichter from NAVAIR; Rick Micklos (retired) from FAA; and Craig Neslen from the U.S. Air Force.
The winning team was recognized for its efforts using the Meandering Winding Magnetometer – Array (MWM®) technology in the inspection of engine disk slots. While providing a more efficient way to discover cracks and fatigue in turbine engines, this process also provides a very low false alarm rate, with no documented false indications in more than 3,000 inspections.
“We congratulate this year’s winning team for its outstanding work in the advancement of critical engine inspections,” said ATA President and CEO James C. May. “Aircraft engine reliability is crucial in this day and age of ultra long-range flying, and this award exemplifies the importance of the industry’s need for continuing these collaborative efforts.”
ATA airline members and their affiliates transport more than 90 percent of all U.S. airline passenger and cargo traffic.
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