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Course teaches students mishap investigation techniques

  • Published
  • By John Ingle
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  It took a little more than six months for an accident investigation board to determine what caused the Space Shuttle Columbia to disintegrate Feb. 1, 2003, upon re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.

The official report release Aug. 26, 2003, showed the board narrowed the immediate cause of the catastrophe down to a missing tile on the leading edge of the left wing. Another part of the consideration was some sort of mechanical failure of Columbia's propulsion system.

In a roundabout way, that's where a little-known course at Sheppard Air Force Base came into play following that fateful flight. David Knauer, 361st Training Squadron Jet Engine Mishap Investigation Course instructor, said then-Navy Cmdr. Mike Francis, a graduate of the course, served on the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, applying the tools he learned as a student to a real-world accident.

"We, of course, like to think we gave him at least a little knowledge to help him through that time," Mr. Knauer said.

That's exactly what JEMIC is designed to do: train military members and civilians from around the world how to investigate what caused a jet engine to fail. The class pulls in U.S. Air Force, Navy, Marine and Coast Guard students who have the same requirement. Students also come from 55 countries around the world including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Poland and the Czech Republic, to name a few.

Click here to view a video about JEMIC.

Mr. Knauer said most people would think that graduates of the course would fill in as jet engine investigators if called to be part of aboard, as the course name suggests, but most of the former students fill the role of the maintenance member on investigation boards.

"The maintenance member has a very extensive and sometimes exhausting task to perform during the investigation," he said. "That person will analyze maintenance factors to include pre-mishap status of the aircraft, aircraft systems, maintenance qualifications, proficiency and training."

Ronald Loeffler, another course instructor, said students start out by learning how to be investigators. Photos and case studies from past mishaps are used to help the students understand the processes of a jet engine mishap investigator.

Then it's time for the first of two hands-on investigations with actual engines that suffered some sort of damage that led to its failure in flight.

"Once we go through the classroom portion looking at pictures, we come out to the lab area where we have engines representing what we just discussed," Mr. Loeffler said. "We then go use the actual item so they can go and do an investigation on their own."

In this portion of training, students can pick up parts, look inside the engine and examine fan blades and other aspects of the propulsion mechanism to figure out how the engine specifically failed. Mr. Loeffler said the instructors are there to point the students in the right direction, not give away the answer.

He said some students will poke and prod him to get a little more information to assist in their investigation, to which Mr. Loeffler replies, "You're the investigator, you tell me."

Royal Australian air force Squadron Leader Greg Foord, an aeronautical engineer and aviation safety instructor for the RAAF, said he appreciates the experience and expertise provided by the course instructors. He said this course is an example of the continued relationship between the RAAF and the U.S. Air Force and the sharing of information.

The squadron leader - equivalent of a major - said JEMIC provides a new insight to the world of jet engines to which he is accustomed.

"When you do your initial training, it's more about how (the engines) work," he said of his aeronautical engineer education. "This is more about how they don't work and what happens when they go wrong. It's a whole new area."

While Squadron Leader Foord and his class of international students went through their final investigation before graduation, an all-U.S. Air Force class worked on their initial investigation.

One student, Maj. Andrew Garcia, the operations officer for the 48th Equipment Maintenance Squadron at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, said he has been through the Air Force's Aircraft Mishap Investigation Course, but it only offers a broad scope of how an aircraft works and what could happen. With JEMIC, he said it narrows the scope down to the nuts and bolts of the engine.

"If you're involved in an accident investigation and the engine was the cause, this course is actually essential to help you figure out (what happened), especially if you're not an engine mechanic or an engineer that understands all the properties or how the engine actually works," Major Garcia said. "It helps to give you a general idea of theory as to how the engine works as well as all the different things that can go wrong, what to look for and the simple tests that you can do out in the field even with just the minimal amount of equipment."

Another interesting aspect of the course is the ability for members from different air forces around the globe to receive the same training. Squadron Leader Foord said the international flavor of the course allows each student to bring something unique to the mix.

"While the end result and the aim is to be able to operate together toward whatever aim we have, the various differences each nation can bring - different strengths, different outlooks or different points of view - is always a wonderful thing to see," he said. "Courses like this show that - whatever our differences in terms of size, culture, language - a lot of the problems we face are very common in terms of flight safety in particular."

Major Garcia agreed the global blend of students at JEMIC puts investigators on the same page should they work in a coalition atmosphere.

"That's huge because we know that we are able to speak the same language no matter where we are from," he said. "When we're talking about jet engine mishaps, we have that common bond. We came to the same school."