A Veteran Licensed Aircraft Engineer With Wealth of Knowledge in our Power 4 Q&A

Having an Obsession with the marvel of aircraft engineering and technology from a child Mr. Ricky Liew Chee Leong, knew he was going to be an engineer and has been on it rigorously. A man with a lengthy experience in the field of Aviation, We at Aviation Read are honored to have Power 4 Q&A with him.

1. Could you tell us a brief history about yourself?

I am a Licensed Aircraft Engineer (CAA (UK) & (Malaysia) A, Cat B1, and Cat C and FAA(US) A&P and IA) by training. I am currently the Head of Engineering of SR Aviation Sdn. Bhd. a company that provides corporate jet engineering and maintenance services. My profession focused primarily in the aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) both in the operations, management, and development of MRO facilities as well as aircraft engineers and technicians.

2. Your Experience in the aviation field?

I joined Malaysia Airlines in 1989 as a trainee artisan and finally established as a Licensed Aircraft Engineer (LAE) in MAS in 1993. Left MAS in 1995 and worked as station engineer of Eva Airways Corporation and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines till 2005. In 2006, I joined SR Aviation to set up the 1st Cessna Citation Corporate Jet MRO in South East Asia.

I hold an MBA from Victoria University, Australia. A registered engineer at the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM), a certified Professional Technologist at Malaysia Board of Technologist (MBOT) and certified ASEAN Engineering Technologist.

Currently appointed as an Adjunct Professor of Universiti Putra Malaysia at the Department of Aerospace Engineering. I am an assessor for the BEM Engineering Technology Accreditation Council (ETAC), MBOT, and Malaysia Qualification Agency (MQA).

I am listed as a National Industry Expert (Aerospace) under the Ministry of Human Resources, Malaysia. I was involved in the development of the Malaysian National Aerospace Blueprint 2030 and the Malaysian Aerospace Industry Occupational Framework 2017. I am also a recipient of the Sunway Education Star Award 2017 and MBOT Active Technologist Award 2019.

3. Could you tell us what you love the most about your job?

• Analyzing and synthesizing systems data to solve minor, major, and complex aircraft systems faults and failure.
• Training younger generations to be the next generation of aviation maintenance professionals.
• Providing inputs to develop aerospace policies/guidelines to move the aviation industry further.

4. What has been the toughest part of your job?

As much as I enjoy my job very much, I find managing the complexity of heavy aircraft base maintenance checks is not easy at all. As a type rated category C base maintenance certifying engineer, I lead a team of B1 and B2 engineers,  technicians, and mechanics that striped down aircraft to almost bare metal and perform very detailed tasks.

It involves complex mechanical, avionics systems, and structure of an aircraft. Hundreds of thousands of parts, components and wirings will be involved. Any discrepancies, defects, modifications more often than not involved complex processes solutions to be developed in consultation and consideration with multiple parties. With stringent safety requirements, time pressure, cost factor, and controlled resources, an optimal solution needs to attain to ensure airworthiness is not compromised which myself as a category C engineer signatory is fully responsible for the aircraft undergoing base maintenance checks.

Guiding younger generation to acquire the spirit of aircraft maintenance professionals.

As we closed our Q&A we wanted to ask him what is it really he want to tell the young and future generation who wants to pursue their career in aviation. His simple reply with a smile has been Passion and Commitment to Flight Safety should be the priority if you want to be in this field.

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