Friday, Sept. 17, 2021

Anyone who has flown recently knows about the flight delays or cancelations caused by a shortage of skilled airline mechanics. 

Thanks to generous donations from American Airlines, students enrolled in the Crowley Academy of Aviation, Transportation and Logistics (C-ATL) are getting hands-on experience working on real jet engines and will graduate from high school with the experience they need to enter this in-demand career field. 

Aviation instructor Stephen Carey, a U.S. Air Force crew chief who later worked for Bell Helicopter, American Airlines and other aviation companies before joining Crowley ISD, says having this jet engine equipment in a high school classroom is taking his lessons to the next level. 

“We are training and preparing the next generation of aircraft maintenance professionals in Crowley ISD,” Carey said. “This donation from American Airlines is already helping our students soar.” 

American Airlines agreed to donate one (1) Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) with stand, valued at $36,000, and various JT8D engine parts, valued at $176,000, from retired American Airlines planes for a total donation value of $212,000.

The APU is essentially a small jet engine that is normally located near the tail of most commercial airliners, and is used to provide electrical and pneumatic power when the main engines are not running.

It will be beneficial to our aviation maintenance school in helping students learn more about basic turbine engine theory, operational inspection of the unit and turbine engine component removal & replacement.

The other various engine components are from a Pratt & Whitney JT8D turbofan engine that was used on the American Airlines MD-80 fleet. The various components are ducts, nozzles, stator blade assemblies, fuel nozzles, etc. that will allow students to see and touch the inner workings of this turbine engine without having to disassemble it.