Life saving equipment

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Whitney Lambert
  • 4TH Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SEYMOUR JONHSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C.-- --  It's a bird!.....It's a plane!.....no it's a parachuting pilot!

"It's [job] satisfying and rewarding when people come home," said Senior Airman Kevin Boyne, 4th Operations Support Squadron aircrew flight equipment journeyman.

Airmen of the 336th aircrew flight equipment shop inspect and maintain life sustaining equipment for pilots and weapon systems operators (WSO) to ensure they are safe in the air. Their purpose is to ensure aircrew has the tools to survive inside or outside of an aircraft. Aircrew flight equipment technicians are responsible for inspecting helmets, oxygen masks, harnesses, and gravitational force suits (g-suit) every 30 days. During an inspection, Airmen look for damage on any components and if damage is found, they fix it first then clean it thoroughly. All items are checked against a technical order, which is a step by step instruction on how to check the quality of each component.

To date, no equipment from any of the four aircrew flight equipment flights here have malfunctioned. Pilots depend on these Airmen to provide safe and effective equipment so they can focus on flying. If an aircrew flight equipment member does not ensure that a g-suit is on tight enough, it can cause serious damage to a pilot or WSO. Aircrew flight equipment members take every inspection very seriously because it is the difference between life or death.

"I think they [aircrew flight equipment] do a great job, they take care of us," said Capt. Stephen Thomas, 333rd Fighter Squadron assistant chief of weapons.

The 336th Squadron aircrew flight equipment members deal with approximately 150 pilots and WSOs each week.