NDI: They see what you can't

by Senior Airman Brittany Y. Bateman
Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs

8/27/2014 - MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D.  -- The non-destructive inspection laboratory flight at Minot Air Force Base operates 24 hours a day to guarantee no defects in Minot's aircraft fleet are overlooked. Deficiencies within aerospace weapon systems and equipment are detected using a variety of assessments.

Shooting X-rays, performing ultrasound on composites, dye penetrant inspections on engine parts, and magnetic particle on weapons mounting equipment are just a few of the tasks NDI technicians perform.

"Our job is essential for crack detection and engine integrity. Without our job an aircraft could crash and people could get hurt," said Staff Sgt. Samuel Russell an NDI craftsman from the 5th Maintenance Squadron.

Russell understands how crucial his job is for the mission.

"Our job is important to the Minot AFB mission because we are the section that can verify if something has sound integrity," said Russell, a Belleville, Michigan native.

NDI identifies small problems before they become very large problems.

"If there is a crack in the wing of an aircraft, we can identify it before it potentially causes the loss of an aircraft and, god forbid, the crew," said Senior Airman Jordan Hayes, 5th MXS NDI journeyman.

As with any type of maintenance on an aircraft, the maintainers in NDI tackle a variety of issues from day to day.

"Many of our call jobs differ from the next," Hayes added. "NDI is a career field where you can see something new every day."

In order to conduct successful missions, both the aircraft and aircrew must maintain excellent physical condition. Just as one would rely on medical professionals to perform analysis and identify the cause of ailments, aircraft maintainers depend on non-destructive inspection specialists to detect discontinuities within aircraft structures and recommend corrective actions.

"The tests we perform to detect flaws aid in decisions to make an element non-serviceable or even ground an aircraft," Russell said.

With meticulous scrutiny, NDI helps identify faulty aircraft for repair, keeping Minot's bombers ready for anything that might come their way.