An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Article Display

Lakehurst engineer receives ‘Flight Deck’ recognition

  • Published
  • By Tom Worsdale
  • NAVAIR Public Affairs Office
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  Approximately 72 percent of Navy and Marine Corps aircraft problems are avionics-related deficiencies, according to Naval Air Systems Command engineers.

Performance problems are hard to pinpoint and often lead to unnecessary repairs and aircraft down time, both of which are costly.

But diagnosing these problems will soon be a lot easier thanks to NAVAIR engineer Dr. Russell Shannon, who leads and developed the Integrated Diagnostics and Automated Test Systems laboratory, which helps identify the cause of aircraft system failures.

Shannon and his team have demonstrated a diagnostic system for aircraft avionics in the field, which will save an estimated $30 million a year in repair costs.

For his efforts, Shannon has been acknowledged by NAVAIR commander Vice Adm. David Architzel with a "From the Flight Deck" note of recognition for exceptional contributions to the Fleet.

Architzel said he was impressed when Shannon gave a tour of the IDATS facility June 8 in Lakehurst, N.J.

"I was personally struck by your extraordinary commitment and depth of knowledge," Architzel said to Shannon. "Your enthusiasm and expertise contribute greatly to the success of NAVAIR and the warfighters who benefit from your efforts."

Between August 2008 and August 2009, false alarms and "cannot duplicate" conditions wasted more than 246,000 maintenance man hours, including aircraft downtime and logistics costs associated across six aircraft platforms.

With IDATS, the Navy will benefit from faster, more accurate fault isolation, reduced aircraft downtime and lower life-cycle logistics costs, reduced erroneous component removal, test and repair, reduced spares requirements and more reliable test/failure data to improve future systems design.

Shannon leads a team of about 30 engineers and computer scientists who are improving avionics maintenance at all levels and across all Navy and Marine Corps aircraft.

He recently received the Navy's 2009 Top Scientists and Engineers of the Year Award for his work in avionics diagnostics as well as for serving as the lead systems engineer for IDATS.

"Throughout Dr. Russell Shannon's career, he has demonstrated an unfailing commitment to the NAVAIR mission and those that the organization exists to serve," said his supervisor, Ruben Lebron. "Dr. Shannon's innovation and diligence in ensuring that refined fault isolations are achieved has been quite impressive and is yet another instance of his unparalleled commitment to providing utmost service to those defending our nation."