Tony Harbottle
Ric was a valued colleague who made a great contribution to so many of the subjects l was involved with during my career. We got on well together and l learned a lot from his enthusiasm to do a good job whatever the issue was.
I first met Ric when he represented FedEx (still Federal Express at that time) on our (Airbus Industrie) A310 / A300-600 Maintenance Steering Committee. In those early Airbus days, much was still to be learned and the value of having American members was well recognized. Ric injected new ideas that led to more meaningful discussions which we always believed resulted in better maintenance programs.
Ric’s decision to accept a key role in ATA, where his new responsibilities included oversight of MSG-3, was pivotal in his career. He embraced the opportunity to engage with Industry specialists from all over the world. Through his dedication, he saved the MSG-3 process from terminal decline by launching a lengthy update that, without the support or oversight from any ATA management group, eventually resulted in a much revised methodology that could be found acceptable to the world’s primary aviation authorities. It is Ric to whom we owe the acronym ’MPIG’ - it caused some smiles when we realised the result of calling ourselves the Maintenance Program Industry Group but l believe that all involved recognised the value of having a memorable name!
After establishing that first revision early in the new century, Ric then oversaw a well managed process that led to regular updates every two years, thus ensuring that the content was kept up to date with evolving technologies and from lessons learned in the field. With his retirement from ATA, he handed over a living process that was by now fully recognised as vital to the Industry as the only practical and acceptable method for developing the minimum content of the first maintenance program for an aircraft entering service.
From a personal standpoint, l was very pleased that Ric represented ATA on the sub-committee l chaired on behalf of the ATSRAC organisation - this having been created by the US government to generate enhancements to industry practices following the in-flight explosion that resulted in the loss of the TWA B747. Together, our group invented the EZAP tool that has led to an enhanced assessment of all aircraft wiring in the world fleet to ensure its continued airworthiness.
From an even more personal standpoint, l cannot finish without mentioning that Ric taught me a new word early in our relationship - one that he used fairly regularly and, l’m quite sure, one that he ensured he always used when in my company. It thus behooves me say that Ric will be much missed in an Industry in which he contributed so much. I hope that somewhere he can raise a smile when l mention ‘dust bunnies’ and ‘swarf’ , both terms that were not obvious to our international working group and caused some merriment between us.
Finally, l would like to pass my sincere condolences to Ric’s family.
Tony HARBOTTLE
(formerly Maintenance Programs Expert, Airbus)