Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) Air Wing personnel have recently successfully graduated in aviation-related courses conducted at MCAST.

Bombardier Jeffrey Bajada, 32 years from Birkirkara, and Lance Bombardier Kenneth Zammit, 30 years from Marsa, attended a 7-month long course of study in aircraft structural repair and composite materials. Another recent arrival to the Air Wing, Gunner Randle Gili, aged 19 from Zabbar, a former MCAST student himself before enlisting in the AFM, also successfully completed a 19-month long full-time course to attain a European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Part 66 Category ‘A’ licence.

These newly graduated AFM students form part of the AFM Air Wing’s Aircraft Maintenance Division (AMD), who are striving to have their personnel internationally certified through local and overseas training.

While congratulating the recently qualified technicians, Lieutenant Douglas Falzon, the AMD’s Officer-Commanding said that “our main paramount mission remains to keep the AFM aircraft fleet in a constant flying readiness. AMD personnel carry out tasks and responsibilities that range from aircraft upkeep to depot or factory level maintenance.”

Most recently, the AMD personnel completed 12 years of inspections on the Air Wing’s fleet of Alouette III helicopters. The helicopters were stripped to basic components, inspected and then rebuilt with extensive modifications made to the avionics by the AFM technicians.

With the expected increase in size of the AFM’s fleet of aircraft at their Air Wing as more modern aircraft types being operated, having fully certified personnel on site will greatly shorten repair times and will increase over all aircraft availability.