[Jeff Higgins]

I have made a career for myself in a very small niche of the commercial aviation industry, a niche know in the industry as "AOG", or "Aircraft on Ground". What that means in aviation parlance is an airplane that is not flying, because it is not airworthy. I help get them flying again. I design tools and equipment used by the largest OEM in the industry to go out and repair customers' aircraft.

In my years in this profession, I have quite literally "seen it all" as far as specific incident repair, basic maintenance, service bulletins relating to design changes and upgrades, and all sorts of other work that gets us out in the field around the world. I have worked with the best in the industry as far as airlines' engineers and mechanics, engineers and mechanics at MRO's around the world, and our own team (as the biggest OEM in the biz, we are well known as being "the best in the business" at what we do).

In other words, I have spent a lifetime around folks who design, build, maintain, and repair commercial aircraft. I have spent many, many very long days and nights with them everywhere from our own plant to some of the most god forsaken remote hangars around the world. We have worked together, we have drank together, we have spent altogether too much time together. As such, I have gotten to know a good number of these folks intimately, and have a pretty good handle on the kinds of folks who do this sort of work. That's why I can say, without reservation, that flying absolutely scares the shyte out of me.