July/August 2023 - 38

DOM DISCUSSION
provide us with a do list. We'll take that do list, we'll enter it into
the work order. It'll be itemized based on airframe, engines or
avionics or APU. And then, the work is issued out to the technicians.
They perform the work. We've got inspectors following
up on everything. We also have a couple internal forms that we
use that the FAA has recognized. We have a form that we tape
to the outside of the airplane basically saying what's going on,
whether we can put power on, or no hydraulics or something -
just a warning.
When everything's done, that form is taken off the airplane.
There's some tasks to do on the back, make sure the airplane's
ready for the crew to come and we sign that off. And then, there's
also another set of forms that we use for open and close. For any
panels that were removed, we have a log for that. And then, we
go back and we attach red streamers to everything that's been
opened up or disturbed. So, we can't miss anything.
AMT: And is all this done through CORRIDOR or is a lot
still actual paper?
Sabatini: Well, yes, there's still paper involved. Like I said, that's
documentation that the FAA is approved in our repair station. But
all the discrepancies are, let's say, the do lists, they'll all be noted
as a discrepancy, or an inspection basically. And then, there's an
area for airframe inspections, and then there's an area for airframe
discrepancies. So, all the inspections will be listed under
inspections, and anything found wrong will be listed under the
discrepancies. As we go along, we work what we can. It depends
on how we arranged it with the owner of the aircraft or the operator.
Sometimes, they set maybe a cost limit on a part. If it's over
a thousand dollars, we need to get prior approval from them. Or
some people don't care. They say, " Just get it done. " There's a lot
of paperwork back and forth, if we need to get authorization to,
say, replace a hydraulic pump or something like that. We'll go
out, shop it and find it. And then, we get approval to go ahead
and purchase it from the appropriate vendors.
For the Part 135 operators, they're a little different in that
they've got a general maintenance manual that we have to abide
by. They've got their own return to service specifications in there.
All of our guys that work on each operator's aircraft have been vetted
by them, whether they're just an inspector or an RII (required
inspection item) inspector. Because a lot of the items on a 135
are RII. Like an engine change, your landing gear change or any
time you have to address anything to do with flight controls or
something similar that's a major area of the airframe or engine.
AMT: So then, once the maintenance is all wrapped up, where
do we go in the process then?
Sabatini: Once all the discrepancies are corrected, signed off
by the technician, then an inspector goes back through, looks
at the areas necessary, and then he signs his " inspected by " on
the CORRIDOR system. Like I said, that's all tracked. The hours
are tracked and the new parts are tracked. Once you've got a
38 JULY/AUGUST 2023
Joe Sabatini, at left, is shown performing a hot section inspection
on a J85-5H engine in support of the experimental side of the house.
THORTON AVIATION
clean bill of health on your work order, it's all signed off. Then
it goes to the return to service process where the logbook entry
will be made. If it's, like I said, a Part 135 aircraft or part 129, 121,
whatever it may be, we have to abide by their regulations of how
they want to see things return to service. They all have different
verbiage for the release.
AMT: I don't want to make you go through all that different
verbiage, but what are the key points between each one?
Sabatini: Well, all the charter operators, they're all pretty much
a blanket type of manual that somebody started with a template
and everybody's put their own spin on it, that they've handed to
the FAA and the FAA has signed off on. One operator, like I said,
might want an RII on an engine change and another one might
not. So, we've got each operator's GMM (general maintenance
manual) that we work on their aircraft. We're basically directed
by them. The charter operators have maintenance controllers
that basically they're the go-between between the operator and
the maintenance department.
Or, the maintenance schedule, I should call it. They're handed
a group of aircraft for some of these big charter operators. They
might have five or 10 aircraft that they have to watch over. So,
we're in direct communication with those guys all the time.
And then, they do onsite inspections while the aircraft's going
through work. To go back to the repair station, everybody's been,
like I said, vetted for what their expertise is. Or, what their inspection
capabilities are. And of course, there's the drug and alcohol
program that is mandatory. Any contractors we may use for
special purposes, NDT or plating or anything like that. They've
shown us their drug and alcohol program as well. All our capabilities
list, our A01, our repair station, all that's on our website
for anybody to view.
AMT: To sum up, any final thoughts or general best practices
our audience should keep in mind?
Sabatini: Well, it all comes down to experience level and using
the appropriate data. I don't want to make this sound flippant,
but it's all nuts and bolts. Use the appropriate technical data or
manual and tooling.
AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY
July/August 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July/August 2023
