FAA SAFETY TEAM, AMT and Avionics Technician
2009 FAA SAFETY TEAM REPRESENTATIVE OF THE YEAR: Kent Lewis of Keller, Texas, exemplifies a high standard of professionalism in the field of aviation safety education. He serves as a FAASTeam Lead Representative in the Fort Worth area where he conducts FAA WINGS seminars and maintains safety websites. He has been in love with aviation since 1969 when, at the age of nine, he was a fence line observer of Braniff Airways 747 operations at Love Field, TX. Today he holds an airline transport pilot certificate with an AMEL rating as well as CFI, CFII, MEI, and commercial helicopter.
Kent is a charter member of the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators (SAFE), a new national organization for aviation educators, as well as the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI), and NAFI.
2009 AVIATION MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN OF THE YEAR: Alfred J “Lucky” Louque of Chatfield, Texas, is this year’s National Aviation Maintenance Technician of the Year. He is the general manager for Air Salvage of Dallas and works with the FAA, NTSB, and aviation industry on aircraft accident investigations and reconstructions. Spending his days answering technical questions on both the telephone and the Internet, he also performs quality assurance inspections, researches parts, and handles customer sales. Lucky provides assistance with coordinating and scheduling accident investigations as well as aircraft component studies, engine teardowns, and test runs. Air Salvage of Dallas is located at the Lancaster Airport (LNC) in Lancaster, Texas.
Lucky belongs to Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association (AOPA) and is an advisor and speaker for the American Bonanza Society (ABS). He participates as a Technical Counselor and conducts educational activities with Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) chapters 168 in Dallas, 59 in Grapevine, 983 in Granbury, and 34 in Dalworth.
2009 AVIONICS TECHNICIAN OF THE YEAR: Jerry Stooksbury, the 2009 National Avionics Technician of the Year, resides in Fort Collins, Colorado. A native of Tennessee, he has been involved in aviation since he was a teenager. First soloing in 1978, he has since earned commercial pilot certification along with instrument, ASEL, and AMEL ratings. He has also been an active flight instructor for over 20 years with airplane single engine and instrument airplane ratings. As a cadet in the Tennessee Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, he participated in several encampments as well as other CAP activities. The CAP organization and its people played a key role in shaping the professional development of this teenager.
A member of AOPA and AOPA’s Airport Support Network, he also is a member of the Colorado Pilots Association (CPA), and the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) where he serves as an AEA / FAA Ambassador for the Denver FSDO. He is also a mission pilot with the Colorado Wing of CAP.
