2023 AMT 40 Under 40 Maintenance Professional: Chris Hurtado — Aircraft Maintenance Technician, United Parcel Service (MIA) & FEAM Aero (MIA)

Chris Hurtado is passing down knowledge. He works two jobs in aviation maintenance, performing line maintenance with UPS, but at FEAM he was brought in to help train the staff.

“They brought me in because of a crew being a little bit junior and getting a lot of junior guys. So they have me teaching them the airplanes and how to use the MELs. Whenever they get stuck on an item, I go out there and give them a hand, help them understand. Trying to keep them from hurting themselves, hurting the airplane, and making timely decisions to get the airplane back flying again, and teaching them everything that I learned when I first got into the business,” Hurtado explained.

He said enjoys passing on some of the knowledge that the older experienced guys taught him when he first joined the field.

Hurtado found his way into aviation via his education. As part of a high school elective, he Interned with American Airlines, which set him down the path of aviation maintenance.

“I really enjoyed it and from there on out, I stuck with it. I've had fun, and they always said, if you have fun at work, it'll never be work again,” said Hurtado.

Outside of teaching the new generation, Hurtado said it’s the sense of community that aviation has that he loves being a part of.

“Although aviation is huge and worldwide, it's very small in the sense that everybody knows each other. You try to take care of each other. You become a family in that group of line maintenance, where I take care of you, you take care of me, and we make sure we both go home the same way we came in,” he said.