As a Maintenance Controller, This Eagle’s Service Area Is the Sky

Maintenance controller Xavier “Cisco” Cisneros ('97, '06) might spend his 12-hour shift monitoring 30 to 40 flights from Hawaiian Airlines headquarters in Honolulu. He is on call, four days on and four days off, to advise flight crews on how to deal with first-class seats that won’t recline, leaking coffeemakers or smoke detectors that won’t turn off after someone has been vaping in the lavatory.

Or he might be talking to a pilot via satellite phone, trying to determine if one of two engines is about to shut down. “Some days, you need a seatbelt,” he says.

The FAA requires every airline to have a maintenance controller and an expert aircraft mechanic trained to advise pilots on any mid-air malfunctions. Issues can also arise at the departure gate, such as blown bulbs and damage done by weather, bird strikes and baggage handlers.

Cisneros must know just about everything there is to know about the B-717, B-767, DC-10, A-321 and A-330. Soon, Hawaiian Airlines will add 17 Boeing B-787 Dreamliners to the fleet. He will also be supporting a wave of new captains as Hawaiian Air continues to hire about 24 new pilots a month.

From Disneyland to the South Lawn of the White House 

Growing up in Anaheim, California, Cisneros lived so close to the theme park that he could hear the music from the nightly Disneyland Electric parade in his bedroom. However, what captured his imagination was taking things apart to put them back together.

He remembers, “I ‘Frankenstein-ed’ my bike from garage sale and hand-me-down parts and built bikes for neighborhood kids.” He moved on to tuning up motorcycles and then cars and joined the military, hoping to become an aircraft mechanic.

As a U.S. Marine, Cisneros was a crew chief on the Sikorsky CH-53 Delta, a big cargo helicopter. “I loved it. It was some of the best times I ever had.”

As a Marine, he acquired a nickname that stuck, Cisco, and the discipline to remain calm under duress, an ability that continues to serve him well in his current job. While on active duty, he earned his first degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Worldwide Campus, a Bachelor of Science in Professional Aeronautics (now the B.S. in Aeronautics) in 1997.

In 1990, he was assigned to Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1).

“I was one of those Marines you see on TV, saluting the president or vice president as he boards the helicopter,” he says.

While executive transport is the highly visible work of the squadron, it is also responsible for testing and evaluating aircraft and systems. Cisneros stayed with HMX-1 through the George H.W. Bush presidency into the beginning of Bill Clinton’s administration in 1994. He then settled in Hawaii.

After landing his job with Hawaiian Airlines, he earned his second Embry-Riddle Worldwide degree, a Master of Business Administration in Aviation in 2006.

He credits his education with his ability to establish credibility with pilots. “Cockpit resource management and all of that stuff that we studied at Embry-Riddle ties into what I do. A lot of coordination. A lot of talking. A lot of listening. Pilots have to trust us.”

Satellite Call for Cisco

When Hawaiian Airlines pilots call on the satellite phone, they reach him at headquarters behind three secured doors. (His work area has the distinction of being the only place employees are allowed to eat at their desks because their vigilance is critical.)

“On the trans-Pacific aircraft we fly (A-321 and A-330), I see cockpit abnormalities from my computer. If a light or fault pops up, I see it as soon as the pilot does.” 

He remembers working with a nervous pilot two hours out, flying from Maui to Seattle.

“She told me she was at 38,000 feet, but the autopilot showed 17,000. At that lower altitude, the plane would burn more gas, and they would not make it to Seattle. We talked through when the computer glitch most likely occurred. It turned out her first officer reached over and hit something accidentally.”

Cisneros advised her to switch the autopilot to free climb and call the tower to request another 1,000 feet. She was cleared to climb, and once she added that extra 1,000 feet, the autopilot reset. 

The quick solution was the result of his team consulting operations manuals and a veteran A-330 pilot who stepped in to confirm their solution. A cool head and a clear voice go a long way. As he learned as a Marine, “If you lose your head, you lose.”

A wrong decision can be costly as well as risky. “Turning a plane around could mean a quarter million dollars or more. The cost of gas is high. We could have lost food, compensation to passengers, payment to other airlines and overtime or the expense of bringing in another flight crew.”

Cisneros and his team also coordinate delivery of repair and replacement parts. “Everything goes through maintenance control for every plane. Hawaiian Airlines is in a parts pool so that they can borrow parts from American, United and Delta. 

“We can interchange a fuel pump and give them another one later,” he said. “Or when we fix one, we can put it on and return their pump if they want their serial number and part numbers to match.”

A New Eagle in the Family

Cisneros and his wife raised three sons in Honolulu and have sent one off to Embry-Riddle’s Prescott, Arizona, campus. He tried to interest his youngest child in aviation, taking him on rides in a vintage Bellanca offered to Hawaiian Airlines employees. Luke Cisernos had other ideas. He chose a degree in Global Security and Intelligence Studies.

His father’s advice to Luke is: “Enjoy college and fraternity life and have fun, but remember you are there to get an education.”

His own education and experience enable Cisneros to provide a lifeline for pilots. His role is collaborative. “The pilot has the final decision; I provide the information on risks and options so the pilot can make an informed decision. I don’t think about cost — I ask myself, what if my kids were on that plane? How would I protect them? It is a very rewarding job.”

He can do that rewarding job because he is a mechanic with an aircraft power plant license, has more than 30 years of experience working on jet engines, and has completed 40-hour familiarization classes on each of the planes Hawaiian Airlines flies.

“I tell the newer guys, slow down when taking an emergency call,” he said. “We are the voice of reason. If we sound nervous, the pilot gets nervous. We figure it out together. We are a team, and we will get through it as a team.”