EDITORS NOTE: This is one of six articles which can be updated by NAVAIR site to include local team participants.

By Marina Sanchez, NAVAIR Public Affairs Office

Vice Admiral Joe Dyer, NAVAIR commander, recognized the C-130 Bleed Air Duct/Overheat Detection System Modification team with the NAVAIR Commander's Award for Special Achievement June 27.

Paul Fitzgerald accepted the award for the team and thanked the team, claiming the members were "the best teammates he had ever worked with." Fitzgerald stressed that the glory of the award was not in the award itself, but in knowing that their "team's actions quickly responded to the fleet's dire need and most likely saved lives."

Other team members were Clark Hutchinson, Robynn Hebert, Vicky Garner, Tom Giblin, John Knapp, Randy Cranford, Rita Gillikin and Mark Knight from NAVAIR Cherry Point, North Carolina; Susan Tyner from NAVAIR Patuxent River, Maryland; and Deborah Ridings, Charley McNeill, Gail Tatum and Brian Sammis from Lockheed Martin, Greenville, South Carolina.

The team, led by Clark Hutchinson, came together in response to hazardous aircraft with corroded bleed air ducts and an inadequate overheat detection system. This type of damage could result in a 20 percent loss of power, deform wing leading edges and threaten the crew/passengers with shrapnel and extreme heat.

After two mishaps in 1997 and 1999, the team formed to investigate and develop a solution. The team used commercial-off-the-shelf items to modify the overheat detection system. By setting up a speed-line modification technique, they were able to work on three aircraft simultaneously and complete one aircraft per week. In total, the team modified and secured 102 aircraft in less than three years.

"We feel honored to be recognized by the NAVAIR senior leadership with this Commander's Award. On those days when everything isn't going just right, we can think back on this proud accomplishment and put things in perspective," Fitzgerald said.

"We very likely saved some lives and without a doubt saved several aircraft from mishaps. We connected with the fleet, served them and now we judge our success by the fact that bleed air duct hazards are a thing of the past within the C-130 fleet," he added.

Photo by Kurt Langfield

Photo Caption: Vice Adm. Joe Dyer presents the Commander's Award for Special Achievement to representatives of the C-130 modification team. Pictured are Rear Adm. Bert Johnston, Clark Hutchinson, Robynn Hebert, Vice Adm. Joe Dyer and Paul Fitzgerald.