They call Mike Correa the “Hawaiian Superman.” That’s because, in his role as Mechanic Crew Chief for Aloha Tech Ops, he’s always ready to hop on a plane from his home base in Hilo, Hawaii and fly in a hurry to wherever he’s needed. His experience and his people skills help inform his newest passion: passing on his knowledge to the next generation.
Covershot: Second place winner of the 2024 Saltchuk family of companies photo contest. Photo by Russell Mitsuda, Cargo Ops Supervisor, Aloha Air Cargo
Talk to any Saltchuk Safety Award winner, and they’ll tell you: ensuring that everyone makes it home safely every day is everyone’s responsibility. Each year, Safety Award nominations come from across the Saltchuk family of companies, highlighting employees who go the extra mile for safety. We asked each of the dozen 2024 awardees to tell us something about themselves and why they like to play it safe on the job.
Getting to Know Mike
Q: Tell us about yourself. Where did you grow up? Where did you go to school?
“I grew up on the Big Island of Hawaii, in Hilo. I went to Hilo High School — the Hilo High School Vikings.”
Q: Tell us about your career, your current position and what led you to it.
“I love doing sheet metal. I’ve been doing it since 1987. We take care of our planes.
It’s a small operation. I don’t oversee anybody, but I have a guy who works with me in Hilo.
I didn’t go to college. I worked small jobs around here. I decided to move to follow my girlfriend, now my wife, Karey, who was working for Continental Airlines. She called me and said, “There’s a program here, if you want to do sheet metal.”
I thought that was interesting. I hadn’t worked on planes before. So, I thought I’d give it a shot–and I liked it. I fell in love with it.
I started off in 1987 at Continental Airlines in L.A. I was in a training program, then became a mechanic helper. This local guy was a manager there. He told me he was going to be director of maintenance for Aloha Airlines. I told him: when you get openings, let me know. I want to come back home. So he called me. There were sheet metal openings on Oahu. So I got it, and moved my family back. It was in 1991 when I started with Aloha Airlines. I worked there through May 2008.
About two months after, Aloha Air Cargo called me, asked if I wanted a job in Hilo. So, from then to now, I’m in Hilo. (Aloha Tech Ops was the former maintenance and engineering arm of Aloha Airlines, which ceased operations in 2008. It now supports Aloha Air Cargo.) I live on the Big Island, but I also commute to Oahu.
When they do inspections and they find air frames that are dented or cracked, they call me and I go up there and fix it. We also do work for other airlines — Southwest, American, Alaska — when they call.”
Safety to Mike
Q: Is there something in your life that drove your commitment to safety?
“Looking out for other people. If I see danger in front of them, where it’s not safe, I look out ahead. I like to take everything slow. I don’t want to rush. I don’t like last-minute things.
Like they always say, “Measure twice, cut once.” That’s my style of work.”
Q: What was your first impression of Aloha Tech Ops? Tell us your favorite story about your time with the company.
“There’s a whole bunch of good guys I work with that came from Aloha Airlines. So talented. I still look up to them. Whatever questions I have, they answer.”
Q: Your nominator talked about your commitment to mentorship. Tell us why you think it’s important to pass on the skills you have.
“My manager called me one day and said, “I want to do a program. You come in, talk to those guys. Show them what has to be done.”
These days, not too many people are doing sheet metal — men or women. There’s nowhere to be taught. I like teaching.
I’m teaching this one guy. He was an apprentice. He’s been working for a while on the power plant side. He’s coming over to the airframe side. I’m trying to teach him sheet metal.
I’m getting up there in age. We need to get the young guys involved with this kind of repair.”
Like they always say, “Measure twice, cut once.” That’s my style of work.”
Q: Think about a time in your career when you felt like what you were doing might not be completely safe. What did you learn from that experience?
“If I’m doing a repair, and they want me to do it this certain way. I will go and talk to the engineering department. They might not know what is happening on the back side of the fuselage. I go in there and look before I start drilling. If it’s unsafe, I’ll double check, and I’ll call the right people to come and inspect first.”
Q: Speaking up for safety can be difficult for some people. What advice would you give to someone within our family of companies who’s convinced their feedback won’t matter — or worse, that they’ll somehow be punished for taking action?
“You need to speak up. If you see something that’s not right, you have got to let the crew chief know, or somebody you can talk to. Safety-wise, it might be my family that could be on that airplane. “
Q: One last one for fun — we hear you’re called the Hawaiian Superman. Tell us about your nickname.
“They sent me a poster of Superman with my face on it. What I was told from the people that brought this up — when they call me to say there’s a possible crack, they need me yesterday. I’m jumping on the next plane and I’m out of here. They think I can just fly through the sky (like Superman) and get to Oahu.”