wnbubbleboy
Veteran
From the Beaver County Times
Airline workers win fight with microbe
For two years, two US Airways employees have been fighting a bug.
Not the flu bug. Not termites. Not even cockroaches. Their sworn enemy has been a microbe that infiltrated jet fuel systems and could clog fuel filters.
But Bernie Yonkovitz, a fleet metallurgist/process engineer from Hanover Township, and Tom Ernst, a manager for line maintenance planning from Bethel Park, can now claim victory - and national and regional awards from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Their work has been so successful, in fact, that the FAA has recommended that other airlines start to use their method.
In years past, airlines pulled planes from the skies and added microbe-fighting chemicals to the fuel system every 180 days, Ernst said. They didn't test to see whether those microbes were actually onboard or how many were there, but just did the maintenance routinely.
"It was like taking a blood pressure pill without checking if you had high blood pressure," Yonkovitz said.
That blanket use, Ernst said, "could have enabled the microbes to build up an immunity to what we were doing.
"The key is we now test before we do the treatment."
To develop the test kit and the use of a different chemical to kill the microbes, the two coordinated research with a college in the United Kingdom as well as with the FAA. Their work has managed to save money and improve safety, US Airways said.
For airlines, the cost savings comes in using the new chemical and in keeping planes in service that don't need to be pulled out of the sky for maintenance, Yonko-vitz said.
Though back-up systems would not have allowed a plane to stall in midair because of a microbe-clogged filter, a pilot would have to land the plane for service, just as a driver would need to get a car with a red warning light to a garage.
"This becomes a nuisance with our particular bug because we have people on board," Yonkovitz said.
"The FAA is very excited about these new concepts," Yonkovitz said.
"It's unique and very important to the rest of the airline industry, and they needed to make sure the word gets out to the rest of the industry that this is now available."
The bug-fighting duo received the regional FAA Flight Standards Service Commitment to Safety Award last week as well as the national FAA award.
If the FAA allows, Ernst said, the two will dedicate the plaque to US Airways' "unwavering commitment to safety through tough times."
Airline workers win fight with microbe
For two years, two US Airways employees have been fighting a bug.
Not the flu bug. Not termites. Not even cockroaches. Their sworn enemy has been a microbe that infiltrated jet fuel systems and could clog fuel filters.
But Bernie Yonkovitz, a fleet metallurgist/process engineer from Hanover Township, and Tom Ernst, a manager for line maintenance planning from Bethel Park, can now claim victory - and national and regional awards from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Their work has been so successful, in fact, that the FAA has recommended that other airlines start to use their method.
In years past, airlines pulled planes from the skies and added microbe-fighting chemicals to the fuel system every 180 days, Ernst said. They didn't test to see whether those microbes were actually onboard or how many were there, but just did the maintenance routinely.
"It was like taking a blood pressure pill without checking if you had high blood pressure," Yonkovitz said.
That blanket use, Ernst said, "could have enabled the microbes to build up an immunity to what we were doing.
"The key is we now test before we do the treatment."
To develop the test kit and the use of a different chemical to kill the microbes, the two coordinated research with a college in the United Kingdom as well as with the FAA. Their work has managed to save money and improve safety, US Airways said.
For airlines, the cost savings comes in using the new chemical and in keeping planes in service that don't need to be pulled out of the sky for maintenance, Yonko-vitz said.
Though back-up systems would not have allowed a plane to stall in midair because of a microbe-clogged filter, a pilot would have to land the plane for service, just as a driver would need to get a car with a red warning light to a garage.
"This becomes a nuisance with our particular bug because we have people on board," Yonkovitz said.
"The FAA is very excited about these new concepts," Yonkovitz said.
"It's unique and very important to the rest of the airline industry, and they needed to make sure the word gets out to the rest of the industry that this is now available."
The bug-fighting duo received the regional FAA Flight Standards Service Commitment to Safety Award last week as well as the national FAA award.
If the FAA allows, Ernst said, the two will dedicate the plaque to US Airways' "unwavering commitment to safety through tough times."
