By Capt. Theodore Haskell, Aviation Safety Officer

Maria Pipkin, a bearing reconditioner assigned to the bearing shop, has been awarded the Naval Air Depot Safety Professional of the Month award for October.

Pipkin, who has worked in the bearing shop only since May of last year, noticed the rod end bearings for the forward barrels, lateral link swashplate bearings and lateral link lower bearings were serialized incorrectly as per the local engineering specification. Upon further inspection, she found that the engraved markings on the bearings were too deep, resulting in severe damage to the bearings. Had the bearings been installed during the flight check phase, it is likely that they would have failed during flight operations and could have led to an aviation mishap.

Pipkin’s action was a perfect example of the proper use of risk management. She stopped the work evolution, evaluated the situation and brought the damaged bearings to the attention of her work leader. This action helped prevent a serious quality defect and possibly prevented a potentially devastating mishap. As a result, the corrective action required the bearings to be replaced in the lead aircraft on the CH-46 production line and all bearings in process.

“I was just doing my job,” said Pipkin, who like many previous safety professional award winners chose to understate her role. She hasn’t yet grasped the notion that sometimes, that’s exactly what it takes to be a hero – just do your job the way you were taught, don’t cut corners, follow the rules. Many depot employees share that same attitude because it just doesn’t occur to them to do it any differently. They forget sometimes that the aircraft that they work on here are not just held together with screws and bolts and rivets, but also by the skilled, caring hands of true artisans – people who think, I’m just doing my job.

Pipkin’s actions are commendable and were in keeping with Naval Air Depot Cherry Point’s business policy, “Relentless focus on quality, Unsurpassed service to the fleet.”

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Cutline: Maria Pipkin was named the October Aviation Safety Professional for exercising excellent risk management in detecting damaged bearings. (Photo by Mike Barton)