According to a formal notice issued last month by the Federal Aviation Administration, all individuals holding mechanic certificates with airframe or powerplant ratings (or both) who were tested by Designated Mechanic Examiner (DME) Marty James Simmons of Anchorage must be re-examined. Simmons' DME designee status was terminated after investigators conducted interviews with "numerous" airframe and powerplant mechanics who received testing from him. The interviews presented compelling evidence raising doubts as to the adequacy of the testing, according to the agency. FAA investigators determined there was "reasonable basis to question whether airmen who received a certificate from Marty Simmons possess the qualifications to hold their certificates."
There were 151 total mechanics affected by the termination of Simmons' DME designation -- approximately 60 of them in Alaska.
All mechanics who received a certificate from Simmons must retake the oral exams from FAA employees at FAA facilities. Airframe and Powerplant certificate holders will be re-examined for competency of both certificates at the same time. The FAA is not permitting these re-examinations to be taken with another DME.
The FAA has mailed letters to all mechanics who must retake the oral exams, however any mechanic who believes they might be affected and has not received a letter should contact Brian Richmond at the Anchorage Flight Standards District Office.
The re-examination notification had a mandatory date of 10 days to contact the FAA and schedule a re-examination; failure to do so result in initiation of a suspension notification. Retesting must occur by September 1, 2015.
All aircraft the affected mechanics have worked on previously are not affected by this re-examination process. Only if the affected mechanics fail to respond to the letters or subsequently fail their re-examination will they suffer a certificate action that affects their ability to perform work on aircraft.
A lengthy series of questions and answers for affected mechanics can be found at the FAA website. Brian Richmond can be contacted at 907-271-2032 or brian.richmond@faa.gov.
Contact Colleen Mondor at colleen(at)alaskadispatch.com.