2016 Aerospace Maintenance Competition 

Alaska Airlines’ Team Seattle bested 50 other teams from around the globe to capture the prestigious Snap-on sponsored William F. “Bill” O’Brien Award for Excellence in Aircraft Maintenance, held during the Aerospace Maintenance Competition, April 5-6, at the MRO Americas Convention in Dallas. 

The William O’Brien Award for Excellence in Aircraft Maintenance Presented by Snap-on, is the grand prize for the team with the overall winning score from the Aerospace Maintenance Competition. The four foot tall O’Brien trophy will be on display at Alaska Airlines’ maintenance facility for the next 12 months. The trophy, which features a bust of Charles E. Taylor, will return to the Aerospace Maintenance Competition next year at the MRO Americas Convention in Orlando and will again be up for grabs to the winning overall team. 

The Aerospace Maintenance Competition gives teams of licensed AMTs, AMEs, international military personnel and qualified aviation maintenance students the chance to test their aviation maintenance skills against those of their peers. The competition included 24 challenges in areas such as avionics, safety wiring, fiber optics/flight control rigging, hydraulics, jet engine troubleshooting, workplace safety SMS and other tasks. Teams had 15 minutes to accurately complete each task; teams that finished their tasks in less than the allotted time received higher scores.   

Winners

Space Category: 1st Place: Virgin Galactic

General Aviation Category: 1st Place: Flight Options

School Category: 1st Place: Utah State University, 2nd Place: West LA College, 3rd Place: Broward College

Military Category: 1st Place: United States Air Force/McChord Air Force Base, 2nd Place: United States Army, 3rd Place: United States Navy

MRO/OEM Category: 1st Place: FedEx Indianapolis, 2nd Place: FedEx LAX, 3rd Place: Embraer Team Legacy

Commercial Aviation Category: 1st Place: Alaska Airlines Team Seattle, 2nd Place: Southwest Airlines, 3rd Place: China Southern AirlinesInternational Commercial Aviation Category: 1st Place: China Southern Airlines, 2nd Place: Embraer Team Legacy; 3rd Place: ALAEA (Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association)

Charles E. Taylor Professional AMT Award: Dallas McLeod, Team Apache

Charles E. Taylor Professional AMT Award (student): Gina Gottfredson-Kelly, Salt Lake Community College