Jeffrey Donnell began to develop his “mechanical prowess” when he was still in grade school, helping out in his stepfather’s auto shop in Maine, according to Helicopter Association International (HAI).
“If it ran on gasoline, we worked on it,” Donnell told the association. “Cars, trucks, outboard engines, boats, tractors, motorcycles, lawnmowers—you name it. I worked there [starting at age] seven, but after high school, I wanted to work for the airlines.”
His career, however, led him into helicopter maintenance, and now, having served in the industry for 45 years, Donnell is HAI’s 2022 recipient of the Salute to Excellence Maintenance Award.
He received his airframe and powerplant license in 1976 and accepted his first mechanic job with Petroleum Helicopters Inc. (PHI).
Over the years, he earned a reputation for dedication, HAI said, and by the 1980s he had become a director of maintenance in Houston, maintaining Bell 222s for a helicopter operator. Later, he maintained Bell 206s and 206Ls for Helitrans.
Dallas Airmotive subsequently recruited Donnell to be a regional sales manager and field service technician and by the early 2000s, he had moved on to StandardAero. A long-time customer based in Picayune, Mississippi, Panther Helicopters, ultimately approached Donnell to be a mechanic. There, he is still maintaining helicopters although he hopes to retire in a few years.
“From his early days as a hands-on mechanic, through his time as DOM of a Houston-based operator, to his days as a salesman of engine MRO, and now back as a hands-on mechanic (his true love), Jeff has shown himself to be unwavering in his dedication to excellence in maintaining these complicated machines,” said Joe Patrick, a program manager at StandardAero.