Center Researchers Receive ‘Better Way’ Award from Air Transport Association

By Holly Baker

The Air Transport Association of America (ATA) and the FAA recently recognized two FAA researchers as the 2006 winners of the FAA-ATA Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) Forum “Better Way” award. Dr. John Bakuckas and Doug Koriakin, who research issues relating to aging aircraft at the Technical Center, were among those honored by the industry trade organization representing leading U.S. airlines and the FAA.

The “Better Way” award recognizes a team of government and airline industry individuals collaborating to advance inspection or testing of aircraft structure, components or systems.

The winning team was recognized for its efforts to summarize 20 diverse non-destructive techniques used to assess damage on longitudinal lap joints. The results are documented in a database that will provide airlines and repair stations with the information needed to make informed decisions about which NDT techniques to use.

Dr. John Bakuckas

Bakuckas, of Hammonton, manages structural integrity research for the FAA’s National Aging Aircraft Research Program, including the full-scale aircraft structural test evaluation and research facility. The Technical Center tests full-scale fuselage panels under conditions that might be experienced by an aircraft in service.

He has worked at the Technical Center since 1993 on a variety of projects, including developing methodologies to assess the structural integrity, damage tolerance, and repair of aircraft. Before that, Bakuckas worked at NASA Langley Research Center, under a fellowship awarded by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences. At NASA, he was part of a team that developed life prediction methodologies for advanced aerospace materials for next generation hypersonic space flight vehicles. He holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Drexel University.

Doug Koriakin

Koriakin of Gibbstown is an aviation research technician and a certified airframe and power plant mechanic. He works on the FAA’s composite panel test program and the 727 teardown and extended fatigue test programs. Before coming to the Technical Center in 1991, he worked at Piasecki Aircraft (Essington, PA) and attended the New Jersey Academy of Aviation Science (Millville, NJ).