This month we meet you with our instructor Kevin Rookes.Ā Kevin draws on over 30 years of international experience in aviation MRO operations implementing and providing oversight of quality management systems, safety management systems and training systems in compliance to numerous National Aviation Authority requirements including the EASA, and the FAA.
We asked KevinĀ to tell us a bit more about himself.
Q: Does the aviation gene run in your family?
A: No, my father had his own egg and poultry distribution business, and my mother was a culinary expert, both of which are quite distant from aviation.
Q: Is there a childhood dream involved in your choice of career?
A: From my mid school years I was always interested in anything mechanical or electrical, and natural curiosity compelled me to understand how things work through repairing cars and household electrical items, and constructing simple devices like radios and amplifiers.
Q: In your opinion, what is the most valuable quality a person should have in your line of work?
A: To share aviation knowledge with others, I believe one must have strong passion for the subject matter, and demonstrate compliance as a natural personal quality and a constant desire āto do things better to move it to the next levelā.
Q: What are the most enjoyable aspects of the job? And the most challenging?
A: My enjoyment comes from sharing my working experiences in the industry, passing knowledge on and encouraging delegates to share their experiences so that we can all learn through others. Since learning is infinite I find there is simply not enough hours in the day.
Q: How do you find ways to make your work more interesting for you and your trainees?
A: As each training session brings new experiences and challenges, I spend a lot of time prior to delivering training researching relevant subject matter such as incidents or changes in regulations and combine that learning with my vault of experience to help trainees gain more understanding and encourage them to share their experiences.
Q: Would you like to share some interesting and extraordinary experience involving your work?
A: One extraordinary experience whilst working in aviation was as a result of China Airlines Flt 605 which attempted to land on the 4th November 1993 during a tropical storm at Kai Tak, Hong Kong and came to rest in Victoria Harbour. Once the B747-400 was back in the MRO facility, my team was requested to dismantle the aircraft by chopping the airframe into small sections to enable transporting it. Through my teamās creative ingenuity and trial and error of a number of different cutting methods they successfully accomplished the task. It was the first major loss of a B747-400.
Q: What activities do you enjoy outside of work?
A: Through my own consultancy business, I advise and assist Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) on implementing quality, safety and risk management systems. I also contribute to a number of risk roundtables and write articles for risk publications. When I am not focusing on work, I like walking, swimming and reading crime novels.
We thank KevinĀ for his time and wish himĀ all the best in his future professional endeavors!
For more information please contact SAS by email Ā office@sassofia.comĀ or by phoneĀ +35928210806
