NDI protects lives, saves money

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Dillon Johnston
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  In today's Air Force, Airmen around the globe handle and utilize multi-million dollar pieces of equipment and vehicles. Some of these, such as an aircraft, need regular maintenance and inspections to make sure they are in working condition. However, routine inspections aren't always enough. This is where the non-destructive inspection shop comes in.

On RAF Mildenhall, NDI provides inspection support to all aircraft based here, as well as transient aircraft and vehicles when needed. The shop is responsible for finding the defect before it has a chance to cause real damage.

"It's our job to inspect the structural integrity of aircraft or equipment, to make sure it's not breaking down before it actually breaks and causes a catastrophic failure," said Staff Sgt. David Mazurowski, 100th Maintenance Squadron NDI craftsman from Goldsboro, N.C.

While most maintenance shops are involved in the process of either making parts or replacing them, NDI has carved a niche for itself as a purely inspections-based shop. Combining elements of science and detective skills, it plays a unique role.

"We are the only shop in maintenance that doesn't actually fix or create something; all we do is inspect, and it's very science based," Mazurowski said. "Coming up through technical school and in our career development courses, and even when we test for promotion - it's all based on science. We have to understand (things like) how gamma radiation works (along with) magnets and magnetic poles."

The NDI shop employs a wide range of inspection techniques which allow maintenance Airmen to see defects invisible to the naked eye.

"We have multiple processes, whether it be fluorescent penetrant, magnetic particle, eddy current, X-ray or ultrasonic; we have a lot of different ways for looking for things," Mazurowski said.

Each of the different methods have their own benefits and uses in inspecting aircraft parts. The Airmen use penetrant on metals that are not magnetic, while they use the magnetic particle method for ferrous, or magnetic, metals. They use eddy current to detect very small cracks or pitting in parts by sending an electric current through the part. When a defect disrupts the current, a display lights up and shows the depth of the crack. NDI also uses X-rays to view aircraft parts inaccessible by conventional means in order to identify hidden cracks. The Airmen also use ultrasound and rely on sound waves to search for discrepancies in a part.

All of these techniques help save the Air Force money, which is especially important in the current fiscal climate. More importantly, however, these simple inspections assist in the preservation of the Air Force's greatest asset: the Airmen.

"It saves lives is what it boils down to, and it saves aircraft," Mazurowski said.
In order to prevent property or personnel loss, NDI performs regular inspections of aircraft, as well as spot inspections of possible damaged parts.

"We have a lot of scheduled inspections, and then we have unscheduled inspections where (people) find a possible defect, and we will let them know if it's an actual defect or not," Mazurowski said.

Due to the shop's diligence and careful inspections these NDI Airmen help prevent potentially catastrophic disasters, save money and lives for the Air Force and keep the base to a high standard of safety.