NDI: Preventative Maintenance

Photo By Staff Sgt. Lexie West | Airman 1st Class Alexander Dixon, 100th Maintenance Squadron non-destructive inspection journeyman, places a sample inside a spectrometer at RAF Mildenhall, England, Jan. 23, 2020. The joint oil analysis program allows non-destructive inspection Airmen to check for failures of aircraft engines through discrepancies in oil. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Lexie West)  

RAF MILDENHALL, SFK, UNITED KINGDOM

02.05.2020

Story by Senior Airman Benjamin Cooper 

100th Air Refueling Wing   

The Airmen of the 100th Maintenance Squadron non-destructive inspections shop verify that Team Mildenhall aircraft are ready to fly, support the mission and keep Airmen safe.
The shop accomplishes this by using multiple techniques to examine aircraft parts and determine whether or not they are serviceable.
“We are preventative maintenance. We make sure that these aircraft that have been flown for over 60 years can keep flying,” said Tech. Sgt. Anthony Sweat, 100th MXS noncommissioned officer in-charge of NDI. “Our processes are needed and our results are valid. The things we do are important and can prevent things nobody wants to see.”
Not only does the NDI shop ensure aircraft parts are functional, they also assist other maintenance shops.
“When aircraft structural maintenance sands down a part, we test it using ultrasonic inspection to make sure the metal meets its allowable thickness levels,” Sweat said. “For metals technology, we check their welds with x-rays to make sure they’re certified and up to Air Forces standards.”
As part of the fabrication flight, NDI helps keep the wing from spending more money than necessary on new parts.
“Without NDI we would have to replace a lot of parts that don’t need to be replaced,” Sweat said. “There would be much more waste, things would be outright discarded instead of repaired and it would create a lot of undue work for other sections.”
Members of NDI use a variety of methods to determine whether a part is damaged or not.
“There are several different methods we use check the integrity of a part,” said Staff Sgt. Carina Lucero, 100th MXS non-destructive craftsman. “Anytime a crack is spotted we come and check it out as soon as possible.”
The stakes are always high in maintenance, but that doesn’t stop Airmen from enjoying what they do.
“There are always things to learn in NDI, it’s not the same method over and over; we use several methods to do our job and they’re all quite interesting,” Lucero said. “ The most satisfying part of the job for me is teaching my Airmen how to perform their duties and then watching them take full control of their jobs and accomplish the mission.”

• Date Taken: 02.05.2020
• Date Posted: 02.05.2020 10:41
• Story ID: 361784
• Location: RAF MILDENHALL, SFK, GB