By D.R. STEWART World Staff Writer

The recently formed AMTSociety has chapters in Tulsa, Dallas and other cities.

Traditionally, the airline industry has been the place to be for aircraft mechanics.

"As a whole, the airlines have always set the bar -- the pay, the benefits," said Ken MacTiernan, an American Airlines aircraft maintenance technician who just relocated to Dallas from San Diego.

But since 9/11, the industry has been in turmoil: several carriers filed for bankruptcy, others merged or closed their in-house maintenance organizations, and the survivors -- including American Airlines -- slashed wages and benefits by 25 percent or more.

Veteran aircraft mechanics said a once-proud profession began to take on the aura of an assembly-line factory job.

In a recent e-mail an American mechanic said, "This is the best quote to describe the morale at American Airlines: They pay me just enough not to quit, and I do just enough not to get fired."

MacTiernan and other American aircraft mechanics recently formed the AMTSociety, which has chapters in Tulsa, Dallas and other cities. It is dedicated to promoting, protecting and improving the profession of aviation maintenance technician.

"We want to raise the level of professionalism," said Dennis Hayes, president of the AMTSociety-Tulsa and a 17-year mechanic at American's Tulsa Maintenance & Engineering Center, where more than 6,000 mechanics and related work groups are employed.

"I like my field, my craft," he said. "I'm not going to give up on it, and I think we can bring back the level of pride it once had."

The AMTSociety plans to highlight the profession's skills March 18-20 at the Dallas Aviation Expo at the Dallas Convention Center.

Besides the AMTSociety's first Maintenance Skills Competition, the Dallas Aviation Expo will feature an aviation trade show, job fair and aviation training seminars.
The competition is open to three classes of mechanics: all Federal Aviation Administration Airframe & Powerplant Licensed Mechanics; any student A&P mechanics enrolled in a FAA Part 147 school; and members of all branches of the U.S. military involved in aircraft maintenance.

Four students from Tulsa Technology Center's aviation program are competing for Team Tulsa at the competition -- Dustin Wise, Zachary Phillips, Sydney Pittsinger and Zachary Van Ness.

Students at Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology are unable to participate in Dallas because Spartan classes are in session next month.

"The skills competition is the perfect way to show what a mechanic does to make things work -- avionics, engines, wheel brakes," MacTiernan said. "Our main goal is to show the public first hand what we as mechanics are responsible for.

"We're also trying to show that mechanics aren't born overnight. It takes a lot of time and money to get your license."

Ron Worthington, vice president of student services at Spartan and vice president of the AMTSociety-Tulsa, said the organization and events like the expo could boost the spirit of the profession.

"People with the true love of the industry are getting harder and harder to find," he said.

Source: tulsaworld.com