Back-to-Back Champions Crowned at 2025 Competition

If you liked last year’s results, then you’ll be pleased with the outcome of this year’s Competition!

Both Southwest Airlines Team Herb and Tarrant County College repeated as champions Thursday in the 2025 Competition Presented by Snap-on at the MRO Americas convention in Atlanta.

Term Herb, one of two in the field from Southwest Airlines, defeated nearly 90 other teams to capture The Competition’s biggest prize, the William F. “Bill” O’Brien Award for Excellence in Aircraft Maintenance. 

“Hard work pays off,” said Chad Rhyne, coach of Southwest Airlines - Team Herb. “I have the same team with me as we did last year. We work well as a group, we challenge each other. The old saying is iron sharpens iron; that’s the secret of our success.”

The crowning of Southwest Airlines – Team Herb, named after its founder Herb Kelleher, capped off two days of excitement at The Competition, an aviation maintenance skills competition held at the MRO Americas convention this week in Atlanta. As winners of the O’Brien Award, Rhyne and his team have the honor of taking the five-foot tall traveling trophy back with them to their headquarters at Love Field in Dallas for the year. The trophy features a bust of Charles E. Taylor, an aviation pioneer who built and maintained the first aircraft engine used by the Wright Brothers. Sponsorship of the award is part of Snap-on’s continued commitment to The Competition and aviation maintenance technicians around the world.

Southwest Airlines wasn’t the only champion to repeat. The talented students from Tarrant County College bested 45 other academic teams to come out as the top school at The Competition.

“Especially after watching the bulk of the awards ceremony, I was really surprised (that we won),” said Mike Vitek, coach of Tarrant County College, a skilled trades school located in Fort Worth, Texas. “We did well in several of the events, we didn’t do so well in others. But when they announced second place, I thought we might have this, and we did. We are very proud and happy.”

This year’s field contained 86 teams representing airlines, repair and manufacturing organizations, military and schools from eight countries.

In addition to the William F. “Bill” O’Brien Award for Excellence in Aircraft Maintenance, Snap-on provided all the tools and equipment used by the participants during The Competition and donated more than $140,000 in tools and equipment prizes to top finishers. More than 50 other companies, educational institutions, community organizers and countless individual volunteers contributed time, resources, prizes, product, and airline miles to make The Competition a success. Other top-tier sponsors include American Airlines, Pratt & Whitney, United Airlines and Teamsters.

Get more information about the 2025 event here.

The Council is accepting competitive event applications for the 2026 Competition. Get more information on providing an event or sponsorship here.

Competition Awardees

Top Overall: Team 44 Southwest Airlines - Team Herb

Category Awards

Paul Cousins Award (top international team): Team 71 AzulTec - Team 1

General Aviation Category

• First Place: Team 63 Aircraft Engineers International
• Second Place: Team 61 Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association
• Third Place: Team 60 Victory Lane Aviation

Military Category

• First Place: Team 38 United States Army - 128th Aviation Brigade - Team Chinook
• Second Place: Team 40 United States Army - 128th Aviation Brigade - Team Blackhawk
• Third Place: Team 45 Royal Canadian Air Force - 12 Air Maintenance Squadron

MRO/OEM Category

• First Place: Team 36 United Airlines - Base
• Second Place: Team 48 Southwest Airlines - Team Colleen
• Third Place: Team 33 FedEx Express - Team Indy

Commercial Category

• First Place: Team 44 Southwest Airlines - Team Herb
• Second Place: Team 65 Alaska Airlines - Team Seattle
• Third Place: Team 67 United Airlines - Line

School Category

• First Place: Team 3 Tarrant County College
• Second Place: Team 25 Lewis University
• Third Place: Team 4 Tulsa Tech - Adult Students

Professionalism Awards

United's John Goglia Competing with Professionalism Award (cash awards, determined by judge vote):

• First Place: Team 56 Aviation Institute of Maintenance – Atlanta
• Second Place: Team 23 Indian Hills Community College

AMC Peer Team Award (determined by team vote): Team 14: Centennial College

AireXpert Dream Team Award (determined by online vote): Team 24: Embry Riddle University – Team 1

AMC Professionalism Award (determined by judge vote)

• Professional: SFC Curtis Parker, US Army - Team Blackhawk
• Student: Hugo Hernandez, West Los Angeles College

Industry Scholarships

PAMA Scholarship provided by Piston Power, Inc. ($1,000 ea):

• Justin Navarro, St Philips College
• Hyungyu Cho, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University

PAMA Scholarship provided by Jsfirm ($1,500): Antwon Thompson, Aviation Institute of Maintenance - Houston

Northrop Rice Foundation written test grant provided by AMXAA:

• Abel Lakew, UTI - Houston
• Brian Jensen, SAIT
• Ethan Betancourt Cruz, PRAMI
• Shara Rodriguez, PRAMI

Northrop Rice Foundation written test grant provided by Jim & Alice Rice: David Morgan, Jefferson Community & Tech College

Northrop Rice Foundation written test grant provided by Aventure Aviation: Trevor Hill, Liberty University

Phoebe Omlie Scholarships (more information on the award here)

Provided by AMC ($1,000 ea):

• Rudo Mathende, Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics
• Adrienne Pope, UTI - Houston
• Tram Tran, Vaughn College
• Brittany Copeland, Jefferson Community & Technical College
• Francisco Lagardo Duarte, Aviation Institute of Maintenance - Phoenix

Provided by AA ($1,250-2,500 ea):

• Ana Pozos Maya, Aviation Institute of Maintenance - Phoenix
• Mackenzie Ek, UTI - Houston
• Railey Ehart, Mohawk Valley Community College
• Sabrina Kizer, AIM - Phoenix

Provided by TechForce Foundation ($2,000): Rachel Woodworth, Jefferson Community & Technical College 

Provided by Chix Fix ($1,200): Genevieve Heitzer, Tarrant County College

Provided by Aviation Workforce Solutions ($2,000): Ka Wai Ma, Vaughn College

Event Awards (top professional and school team for each)

Event 1: Pratt & Whitney Fuel Nozzle Replacement 

Team 48: Southwest Airlines - Team Colleen (MRO/OEM) Score: 306

Team 30: Aviation Institute of Maintenance – Irving (School) Score: 418

 Event 2: American Airlines Logo Light Harness Troubleshooting 

Team 45: Royal Canadian Air Force – 12 Air Maintenance Squadron (Military) Score: 413

Team 11: Embry-Riddle University - Team 2 (School) Score: 535

 Event 3: American Airlines APU Starter 

Team 31: Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics - Youngstown (School) Score: 368

Team 33: FedEx Express - Team Indy (MRO/OEM) Score: 415

Event 4: PPG Transparencies 

Team 48: Southwest Airlines - Team Colleen (MRO/OEM) Score: 279

Team 3: Tarrant County College (School) Score: 439

Event 5: PPG Wing Sealant 

Team 65: Alaska Airlines - Team Seattle (Commercial Airline) Score: 88

Team 10: Salt Lake Community College (School) Score: 160

Event 6: PPG Virtual Paint Booth 

Team 44: Southwest Airlines - Team Herb (Commercial Airline) Score: 129

Team 3: Tarrant County College (School) Score: 136

Team 28: Aviation Institute of Maintenance (School) Score: 136

Event 7: United Airlines Render Safe 

Team 44: Southwest Airlines – Team Herb (Commercial Airline) Score: 396

Team 25: Lewis University (School) Score: 492

Event 8: United Airlines Fuel Tank Entry Precautions 

Team 44: Southwest Airlines - Team Herb (Commercial Airline) Score: 375

Team 25: Lewis University (School) Score: 414

Event 9: FedEx Cargo Floor Lock 

Team 44: Southwest Airlines - Team Herb (Commercial Airline) Score: 375

Team 3: Tarrant County College (School) Score: 390

Event 10: FedEx Safety Wire 

Team 74: Alaska Airlines – Team Anchorage (Commercial Airline) Score: 377

Team 1: West Los Angeles College (School) Score: 436

Event 11: Alaska Airlines Wire Troubleshooting

Team 21: University of Alaska Anchorage (School) Score: 505

Team 63: Aircraft Engineers International (General) Score: 534

Event 12: Abaris Training Composite Repair Skills 

Team 67: United Airlines - Line (Commercial Airline) Score: 119

Team 11: Embry-Riddle University – Team 2 (School) Score: 145

Event 13: Av-DEC Antenna Gasket Installation Test 

Team 48: Southwest Airlines - Team Colleen (MRO/OEM) Score: 110

Team 5: South Seattle College (School) Score: 301

Event 14: Moeller Aerospace Click -Loc Challenge 

Team 44: Southwest Airlines - Team Herb (Commercial Airline) Score: 212

Team 3: Tarrant County College (School) Score: 259

Event 15: GlennCo Aviation Training Company Avionic/Electrical Troubleshooting 

Team 44: Southwest Airlines - Team Herb (Commercial Airline) Score: 74

Team 77: Liberty University (School) Score: 78

Event 16: Perfect Point E-Drill Fastener Removal 

Team 66: American Airlines - Team Line (Commercial Airline) Score: 127

Team 84: SLME (School) Score: 146

Event 17: StandardAero Engine Fan Blade Removal 

Team 29: Misfit (Commercial Airline) Score: -13 (rounded to 0)

Team 29: Universal Technical Institute (School) Score: -6 (rounded to 0)

Event 18: D Gore -Nose Leading Edge Sealing 

Team 36: United Airlines - Base (MRO/OEM) Score: 280

Team 2: Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology Score: 341

Event 19: Snap-on Precision Torque Application 

Team 70: Horizon Air (Commercial Airline) Score: 63

Team 22: Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics – Pittsburgh (School) Score: 75

Event 20: Southwest Airlines & Barfield Systems Acoustic Ultrasound Troubleshooting 

Team 3: Tarrant County College (School) Score: 153

Team 66: American Airlines – Team Line

Event 21: Southwest Airlines & The Boeing Company Thrust Reverser Control Fault Troubleshooting and Repair 

Team 3: Tarrant County College (School) Score: 178

Team 63: Aircraft Engineers International (General) Score: 237

Event 22: Barfield Air Data 

Team 67: United Airlines - Line (Commercial Airline) Score: 668

Team 75: WSU Tech (School) Score: 700

Event 23: Barfield Antenna Testing 

Team 67: United Airlines - Line (Commercial Airline) Score: 59

Team 33: FedEx Express – Team Indy (MRO/OEM) Score: 59

Team 76: Aviation Institute of Maintenance – Orlando Score: 115

Event 24: Michelin Aircraft Tire Inspection 

Team 36: United Airlines - Base (MRO/OEM) Score: 85

Team 15: Utah State University (School) Score: 151

Event 25: Eaton Rigid Tube Assembly Repair 

Team 33: FedEx Express - Team Indy (MRO/OEM) Score: 118

Team 4: Tulsa Tech – Adult Students (School) Score: 183

Event 26: WiN MS Fast Wiring Diagnostics

Team 29: Universal Technical Institute (School) Score: 85

Team 65: Alaska Airlines - Team Seattle (Commercial Airline) Score: 86

Event 27: Daniels Manufacturing Corporation Tooling for Harness Assembly

Team 48: Southwest Airlines - Team Colleen (MRO/OEM) Score: 292

Team 24: Embry-Riddle University – Team 1 (School) Score: 474