ATTLA ensures aircraft cargo gets to destination safely

  • Published
  • By 88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio. --  The Air Transportability Test Loading Activity office at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base has a special mission -- ensuring that cargo on Air Force aircraft is safe for flight and compatible with the capabilities of the plane.

Organized under the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center's, Engineering Directorate, ATTLA supports all federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigations, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Secret Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

According to Mark Kuntavanish, lead engineer for the ATTLA office, ATTLA was created to centralize expertise for airlift and be a resource for aircrews and military transportation agencies.

"Prior to ATTLA, aircrews were responsible for ensuring their plane could carry its cargo and that proper restraints were used to secure the load," Kuntavanish said. "At times this caused delays and cancellation of missions for crews that may not have had adequate information or expertise to accurately determine the compatibility of the cargo with the plane."

Support from ATTLA is often necessary due to conditions that are unique to flight, including rapid altitude changes, air turbulence and vibration signatures.

"The flight environment is different than shipping over the road or by railcar or by boat," said Kuntavanish. "A good example is car carrier trucks that take cars to dealerships. You'll see several chains attached to them, but that's for highway restraints, if they were inside of an airplane they would be tied to three times that level."

According to Caroline Buckey, mechanical engineer in the ATTLA office, securing the cargo isn't just about protecting the load but about protecting people around it.

"One of the reasons we tie down the cargo to the level we do is because if there is a crash, and it's survivable, we don't want the load coming loose and killing people," she said.

When ATTLA receives a request for assistance in certifying the cargo is safe to travel, its experts can either fly to the requesting organization or make the determination from their desktop computers using mathematical   formulas and tools.

The office has been involved in a number of humanitarian and diplomatic missions including certifying cargo for relief efforts following natural disasters in Haiti, Japan, and New Orleans.

Recently ATTLA certified the delivery of equipment and mobile hospitals to aid in the care, treatment and transport of patients with the Ebola virus.

ATTLA was also involved in rescue efforts in New York during a major snowstorm in November 2014. The storm closed highways and roads, and prevented emergency responders from helping people in need. The only way to rescue people was on snowmobiles

The office was able to help facilitate the safe delivery of snowmobiles to the New York State Police, indirectly saving lives.

ATTLA helped airlift equipment owned by other countries to support international missions, including a project to support an ally, the Romanian Coalition Forces Contingent in Afghanistan.

As the Romanian military was preparing to leave Afghanistan, they wanted to take back to Romania a memorial to honor their service and sacrifice. They selected the tower to the church on base. Through guidance from ATTLA the tower was delivered safely to Romania.

Kuntavanish said that the goal of his office is to support the needs of the U.S. government and the U.S. Air Force.

"We are a major asset for airlift," said Kuntavanish. "We allow the shipment of goods and equipment rapidly, saving time and resources for rapid deployment of cargo, making it safer for aircrews and protecting cargo from the flight environment."