A team from Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s aviation technologies program placed 10th in the nation in the scholastic category of the 2026 Aerospace Maintenance Council competition in Orlando, Florida, according to a May 19 announcement.
The event brought together current and future aviation maintenance professionals to test their skills against peers from around the world. The performance by SIU’s Detail Dawgs, a registered student organization, highlighted their ability to compete at a high level among national and international teams.
Two Detail Dawgs teams competed last month and together finished in the top 10 in eleven different events within the 49-team scholastic division. In total, ninety teams from eight countries participated across twenty-seven different events. Each team was made up of five students with one alternate. James Barker, an assistant professor in aviation technologies and faculty adviser, said, “current and future aviation maintenance professionals [were able] to showcase their abilities and see how they stack up against their peers around the world.” He also said that the Detail Dawgs consistently placed within the top third of all competing teams and achieved fourth place overall in fastener flushness inspection—surpassing military and professional airline maintenance technicians.
Barker described how students prepared for competition: “These students practiced tirelessly to make sure they were competitive. They researched events, planned their lodging, and attended meetings to secure funding,” he said. Barker noted that several students were approached by airline officials after the event with job offers.
The competition featured challenges such as avionic/electrical troubleshooting, engine fan blade removal, thrust reverser control fault troubleshooting and repair, fuel nozzle replacement, cargo floor lock work, as well as professionalism assessments including tool use safety protocols. Team members included Ian Campbell (Detail Dawgs president), Liam Dunn (social media coordinator), Emma Bailey, Tyler Dufresne, Kennan Kahrimanovic, Jon Lehmann, Erik Longo, Andres Pulido, Aurora Salerno, Berlin Schachtner, Logan Schwarz and Addison Thomas; Campbell and Dunn graduated on May 9.
Among notable finishes for SIU were third place awards for fastener flushness inspection and electrical wiring harness testing; fifth place for inflight entertainment troubleshooting; sixth for e-drill fastener removal; seventh places for fuel nozzle remove/replace as well as safety wire; eighths for fast wiring diagnostics plus cabin seat repair; tenth places went to PPG transparencies event along with antenna test plus fuel tank entry precautions.
SIU’s School of Aviation offers undergraduate degrees in flight operations management or technologies alongside graduate programs.
