From the Flight Deck

Jason Pereira joined the Navy 10 days after graduating from his high school in Maine. It was in the Navy that he learned aviation mechanics. That has been his professional world ever since.

“I was an aviation machinist mate, an aircraft engine mechanic,” he said. “I went to basic training in Great Lakes, Illinois, then went to technical school in Millington, Tennessee, where I got my rating.”

In Navy terms, Jason’s rating was “AD,” which refers to aviation machinist’s mate. Navy.com explains that, “Aviation Machinist’s Mates (AD) are aircraft engine mechanics. As an AD, you have the important job of maintaining and preparing aircraft for flight by inspecting, repairing and overhauling aircraft engines and propellers.”

Equipped with his rating, Jason moved on to Cecil Field in Jacksonville, Florida, a major training hub for Navy S-3 Viking squadrons like VS-27 (Sea Control Squadron 27), which provided anti-submarine warfare training. The Lockheed S-3 Viking was a four-crew, twin-engine jet designed for anti-submarine warfare. Its GE F34 jet engines also powered the Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt attack jet as well as larger regional civilian and commercial jets.

After his Navy experience, Jason tested for and received FAA power plant certificates and attended airframe school in Texas. His career spans hands-on maintenance, leadership, and field support roles, including performing Citation modifications at Sierra Industries, Maintenance Controller for Raytheon Travel Air aircraft, Director of Maintenance, Field Representative on Pratt and Whitney engines for Dallas Airmotive, and an AOG (Aircraft on Ground) mobile technician.

“I moved all over the place,” he said. “I got a job in Plymouth, left there, did a job as a traveling mechanic.”

Jason Pereira works on a Pilatus PC-12 turboprop in Shoreline Aviation’s charter fleet.

Jason, now 55, joined Shoreline Aviation at Marshfield Municipal Airport as a jet mechanic in 2015. “I take care of FAA Part 135 aircraft, keep paperwork up to date, schedule maintenance, make sure we’re FAA compliant, manage aircraft maintenance-wise. (Part 135 is unscheduled air service, such as Shoreline’s charter flight service, which includes Citation and Falcon jets and Pilatus turboprop aircraft.)

Jason married a Texan, who relocated to New England with him, initially to Maine. They now live in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and have two grown children.

“She’s a New Englander at heart,” Jason said of his Texas bride. “She loves it here.”

Their older son is an officer in the Army Reserve and works in the cyber warfare arena. His younger son is also in maintenance, looking after an apartment complex locally.

Jason says his military experience impacts him now in more ways than one.

“What I learned in the military carried over to how I approach maintenance,” he said. “I learned to get things done. Don’t worry about the small things, just get it done – mission critical: whatever it takes to get it done.”

He says he also learned to follow the “12 Rule.” “Inspect 12 inches around the job I’m working on to be sure there’s nothing else to fix,” he said. “Think outside the box. Rely on your team, your fellow worker. It’s not just you; we all do it, as a collective.”