Story In brief

• The Engineering team at Anchorage play a vital role in ensuring mechanical safety for the freighter fleet
• It’s a small team whose members learn their craft quickly and operate in all weathers
• Whether it’s a routine inspection or major repair, the engineers are ready to pitch in for the cause

Story in full

Up in Anchorage, as the resourceful Cargo team keeps customers’ shipments moving, there is another small but vital team working alongside them. These are the engineers: they share the same dedication to the cause and, by working together, the same family feel.

We’ve noted before that each aircraft stop at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is like a pit stop during a Grand Prix race, with the Cargo team ensuring that freight and crew are safe and secure. Each time a freighter touches down at Cathay’s second busiest hub, the Engineering team are also on hand inspecting, checking and, if needed, addressing any issues.

The team of nine is led by Engineering Manager Bet-Warda “Ben” Banipal. Six of its members are Licensed Aircraft Engineers, which gives them the authority to sign off jobs, with one close to attaining this status. The youngest member, Alex Kozlovska, is at the start of her career as an Apprentice Aircraft Mechanic. “Although we call her Future Aircraft Engineer,” says Banipal. People learn fast up here.

First to the plane

The engineers are the first to the gate to meet an arriving aircraft and the last to leave, on call until it has taxied away. As with the Cargo team, they are used to Anchorage’s harsh winters that can transform everyday tasks into major endeavours.

Turnarounds follow a well-established routine. At the freighter bays on the ramp, engineers must check the area for FOD (foreign object debris) that might have blown across the airfield. Even a small piece can do damage if sucked up into an engine. But this is Anchorage, as Licensed Aircraft Engineer Peter Chung outlines. “First, I check if there’s any snow and how deep it is, because it can cover the lights and lines and the pilot cannot see where to go,” he says. “I could be out 30 minutes prior, just shovelling snow.”

Once the plane arrives at the gate and as the engines spool down, the engineer plugs their headphones into the jack on the front undercarriage to check with the pilot that the parking brake is set – an important consideration as the parking bays Cathay Cargo use are on a slight incline. They can also inquire about potential defects that may have developed en route which may require tools or parts, saving a trip up and down the aircraft stairs.

Eagle-eyed engineers

Engineers also do a walkaround to see that things are as they should be. “This will take in the doors, engines, cowlings, the pitot tubes, tyres, the brake conditions – the normal stuff,” says Banipal. Then it’s up the stairs, checking off items such as the latch lights on the nose door, the water and toilet levels on the small top deck, before heading to the flight deck to check the oil and fuel levels, as well as the tech-log, the book in which the crew enter defects. “The crew will also tell you if there is anything,” adds Banipal.

Occasionally, though, eagle eyes outside will detect something that the pilots, with their mass of flight deck sensors, may not. It might be a separating tyre, which will show normal pressure on the gauge but on the next landing could delaminate and throw rubber that can damage the fuselage.

Only recently, Chung found a fuel leak in an engine which the crew would not have noticed. “Fuel was pouring out from the oil heat exchanger but there’d be no indication to the crew because it happened after engine shutdown,” explains Chung. That would have been the last flight of his shift, but it turned into an extensive search to find an out-of-stock part from the other freighter operators at the airport in an effort to keep the schedule on track.

All hands help a stricken aircraft

Occasionally, an aircraft is deemed unfit to fly, and with safety to the fore in all Cathay Cargo operations, the team is not afraid to make the call to ground the plane. “No one ever has to be scared of jeopardising the operation when it comes to safety,” says Banipal.

Last year, there were 14 AOG (aircraft on ground) incidents. The repair work generally takes place in the pit lane – out on the ramp. Hangar space was available for just two of the 14 and, in the past, the team has undertaken major work outside, including replacing an engine under a makeshift tent in the depths of winter.

Yet even small jobs take on a different feel in the dark and cold. “I had to change a fuel oil heat exchanger in -26°C,” recalls Banipal. “In the dark, you have to train your fingers to be your sensors, but the metal at those temperatures…” he shudders. “Once you find the nut, you can work your magic, but the first one I did was in a foot of snow, so if you drop something, you’re then scrabbling around on your hands and knees.”

Expertise and experience

Still, these trials strengthen both the team’s bond, knowledge and expertise. “We have a lot of planes coming in, so as a young engineer you build up experience quickly,” says Chung reflecting on the pace of his own development as he waits for a freighter to depart. “But honestly, this Anchorage team is really special; I’ve never seen teamwork like this anywhere else.”

This will be music to Banipal’s ears. “Those are my requirements: dedication to the company and dedication to each other,” he says.