The Competition Presented by Snap-on Celebrates Major 2026 Winners Like FedEx Express
The 2026 iteration of The Competition Presented by Snap-on has come to a close, with major winners including the FedEx Express team, who received the William F. “Bill” O’Brien Award for Excellence in Aircraft Maintenance.
To secure the award, the FedEx Express – Team Memphis beat 90 other teams of maintenance professionals from around the globe.
The O’Brien award is a trophy—featuring a bust of Charles E. Taylor—that goes to the team with the lowest overall score each year at The Competition, with the Dallas Southwest Airlines team—Team Herb—holding the honor for the past two years.
Now, the William F. “Bill” O’Brien Award will travel to Tennessee to its new home with FedexExpress’s Team Memphis, which included the following members:
- Drew Lipsey (captain)
- Chase Ramey
- Logan Teetz
- Curtis Krug
- Tyler Ramey
- Zach Ray
- Patrick Wooldridge (coach)
“I really can’t describe the feeling of winning, we’ve been trying for this for a long time,” said Drew Lipsey, captain of FedEx Express – Team Memphis.
Lipsey continued, “We came together organically this year. I credit the skill level, the hunger and drive of each member of our team to help get us to this point today.”
“It just created a perfect recipe for success this year, and I’m really proud of what we accomplished,” added Lipsey.
Vice President of Snap-on Industrial and Aerospace Maintenance Council board member Bill Willetts commented, “Congratulations to FedEx Express – Team Memphis for capturing the O’Brien Award at this year's Competition.”
He continued, “They embody the best of what the industry has to offer, and we look forward to them defending their title at next year’s event.”
“Hats off to all the teams who competed this year,” said Willetts, “Snap-on is proud to continue its support of this world-class event that honors the critical role aircraft technicians perform every day to keep passengers and cargo flying safe.”
Highlighting Major Winners
Aside from the William F. “Bill” O’Brien Award, several other major winners are celebrating success after The Competition.
Another major winner of The Competition at MRO Americas 2026 is the team Tulsa Tech – Adult Students, who won the School category containing 40+ teams.
Aviation Program Coordinator at Tulsa Tech Sheryl Oxley said, “They’ve been killing it all week; their hard work definitely paid off. I knew they could do it. They put in so much hard work, gave up weekends to prepare and often stayed after class.”
Oxley added, “Also, I can’t thank American Airlines in Tulsa enough as they came and trained with us on their own spare time. This is such an outstanding group of students.”
Chairman of the Aerospace Maintenance Competition Ken MacTiernan said, “The Competition is a venue for aircraft technicians and students from around the world to come and compete against each other, while showing the public what our responsibilities are, the knowledge, skill and integrity that we all possess.”
MacTiernan continued, “The Competition continues to grow and get bigger and better every year. The camaraderie of the aviation industry is really on full display.”
Here is the complete list of major category winners from The Competition at MRO Americas 2026:
William O’Brien Award for Excellence in Aircraft Maintenance
- FedEx Express – Team Memphis
MRO/OEM Category
- 1st Place: FedEx Express – Team Memphis
- 2nd Place: Southwest Airlines - Team Colleen
- 3rd Place: American Airlines – Team Base
School Category
- 1st Place: Tulsa Tech – Adult Students
- 2nd Place: Universal Technical Institute – Houston
- 3rd Place: Tarrant County College
Military Category
- 1st Place: United States Army – 128th Aviation Brigade - Team Chinook
- 2nd Place: United States Army – 128th Aviation Brigade - Team Blackhawk
- 3rd Place: United States Air Force – 4th MXG
Commercial Category
- 1st Place: FedEx Express – Team Indy
- 2nd Place: Southwest Airlines – Team Herb
- 3rd Place: United Airlines - Line
General Aviation Category
- 1st Place: Aircraft Engineers International
- 2nd Place: Victory Lane Aviation
- 3rd Place: Textron Aviation - Orlando
Peer Team Award
- Centennial College – Team 1
Dream Team Award
- Tulsa Tech – Adult Students
Professionalism Award
- SFC Curtis Parker - US Army - Team Chinook
Professionalism Award (student)
- Jeremy Janes – Chennault Aviation Maintenance Academy
United’s John Goglia Competing with Professionalism Awards:
- 1st Place: Embry-Riddle University – Team 1
- 2nd Place: Chennault Aviation Maintenance Academy
As sponsor of The Competition, Snap-on provided equipment and tools for the teams participating, and the company donated $150,000 in prizes to winners.
Other sponsors of The Competition include:
- American Airlines
- Boeing
- Pratt & Whitney
- Southwest Airlines
RH Aero