AEDC commander recognizes 'eagle-eyed' team members

  • Published
  • By Bradley Hicks
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  AEDC Commander Col. Scott Cain feels the right attitude from all team members is necessary to ensure continued safety across the Complex.

This includes a willingness to speak up when things seem amiss.

“In the flying world, that’s called a ‘Knock-it-Off,’” Cain said. “If someone calls ‘Knock-it-Off,’ then the mission stops until safety is ensured. Safety is the priority, and everyone is empowered to make this call if something doesn’t look right. In the ground test world, it’s no different.”

Cain recently recognized several members of the Test Operations and Sustainment contractor, National Aerospace Solutions, for their “eagle eyes” and not remaining silent when things did not look or sound right. The actions of the team members to stop a test from progressing after noticing these anomalies potentially prevented catastrophic damage to equipment and facilities.

Cain talked with each of the individuals recognized and presented each with a Commander’s coin. NAS General Manager Cynthia Rivera also thanked each of the individuals for their quick actions.

According to Cain, making the call to stop a test in progress is not always easy, but the willingness of those recognized to speak up ultimately saved people, equipment and missions.

“We’ve been calling it ‘eagle eyes’ for the ability to spot something before it’s too late,” he said. “But it also takes the courage to report what you saw and to make the tough call that may delay a test mission. To keep safety the priority and to protect our people and assets, that delay is worth it.”

Machinist Paul “Buck” Buckner was among those recognized. During Aerodynamic and Propulsion Test Unit facility pre-ops, Buckner noticed the APTU pump, which feeds all hardware downstream of the facility nozzle including the flow rake, was making an abnormal sound.

Buckner called for the pumps to be shut down immediately, a move that prevented catastrophic failure. After the pump was stopped, an inspection of the oil showed metal wear on both ends of the pump. The oil was black and filled with brass-like particles.

It is believed that if Buckner had not spoken up, the APTU pump would have incurred a significant amount of additional damage and hardware downstream of the pump could have been significantly harmed.

Instrument technicians Adam Baker and Shahn Hunter were stationed in the 4-foot transonic wind tunnel control room at Arnold AFB when they noticed debris sporadically passing by on camera during a test in progress. At the same time, machinist Bryon Weatherford, who was in the 4T tunnel facility, heard an unusual clanging sound louder than the normal tunnel operating noise level. All three recommended the immediate shutdown of the test.

For their attentiveness and willingness to promptly report these observations, Baker, Hunter and Weatherford are credited with likely reducing additional damage to the Captive Trajectory System unit and preventing damage to the tunnel and test article.

Following reconfiguration of the CTS apparatus, the test was able to continue with minimal delay to the test customer.

“We have been taught, ‘When you see something, say something,’” Baker said. “At the time of the incident I had only been here for six months, so I was not really sure what we were seeing but knew something wasn’t right. This was only possible because we had a confident test operations engineer, Denise Bryant, who trusted us and took quick action to ensure preservation of the tunnel and article.”

Following a “dust off” run at the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex located at Moffett Field in Mountain View California, mechanic Todd Fuller was performing a tunnel inspection. While performing that inspection, he saw a small beam of light shining through a gap between two tunnel wall panels about 60 feet up the wall in an area upstream of the fan drive.

Fuller reported this observation to facility engineers. Closer examination indicated the panel gap had grown significantly since the previous run.

This report likely prevented equipment damage and further facility damage, as NFAC engineers were planning to operate the tunnel at full speed during the next run.

Cain said the actions of the team members recognized exemplify the safety-first attitude he wants to see across AEDC.

“This is the culture I want to encourage at AEDC,” he said. “Sometimes it’s a gauge or readout that tells you we’re off conditions, but sometimes it’s just a sense that comes from years of experience. All of the individuals I recently recognized made great calls and kept us safe.”