Meet Kenmore Air Mechanic, Maddie Kutzera
Twenty-four-year-old Maddie Kutzera is a certified A&P mechanic at Kenmore Air, specializing in customer maintenance. She has a quick (yet quiet) wit, stunning smile, and an eye for detail. She’s also an advocate of achieving goals and dreams, through relentless hard work and tenacity. Which is a good — because women make up just 2.62 percent of the nation’s aircraft mechanics. And Maddie has big dreams.
In spring of 2022, she earned her Bachelors in Aviation Management with a Specialization in Maintenance from Central Washington University (while working full-time at Kenmore Air). She has her eyes set on being a director of maintenance — and will work harder than anyone to achieve her dream. She hopes that Kenmore will one day provide her an opportunity to begin to grow in to these dreams.
“We have a really good group here. It’s like a family,” said Maddie. Plus, she loves her job.
“I’m not someone who can sit behind a desk all day, that wouldn’t grant me any sort of satisfaction at the end of the day when I lay my head on my pillow,” said Maddie.
It’s a reality she learned on her first day at Kenmore Air in 2017. A recent high school graduate, she was taking avionics classes at Everett Community College when she took a position as a Customer Service Representative. She was spotted by avionics, and the same day she started, she was moved to the maintenance department.
“I asked to go check out the planes during my lunch. Paul (Hagland) saw me and asked if I wanted to help. Paul could tell I was rather mechanically inclined, so I went to be his helper while I finished my avionics certifications,” explained Maddie.
Today, she is one of Kenmore’s very sought after Customer Maintenance Specialists. Maddie’s primary responsibility is conducting and directing annual inspections as well as being a heavy participant in the rebuild team. Often these are planes that private plane owners bring in for inspections, which the customer specialist crew has never seen before and will never see again. A diligent eye for detail is required as the crew completes a thorough evaluation, comparing the plane’s paperwork with the plane itself.
“When we get a customer airplane we’ve never seen before we have to completely re-evaluate all of the legalities within the paperwork and modifications within the aircraft in order to ensure before we begin our inspection we are starting on a well understood playing field.”
It’s this culture for meticulous detail that has earned Kenmore Air its reputation for quality service and safety. “We make sure we look at everything,” said Maddie.
Outside of work and school Maddie loves to go hiking out in the mountains, rock climbing, working on cars, and wood working. Maddie also has three Australian Sheperds that keeps her hands full during any opportunity they can.
Quick Facts About Maddie
Occupation: A&P Mechanic
Education: Bachelors in Aviation Management with a Specialization in Maintenance from Central Washington University, Certified Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic earned along with her associated degree from South Seattle Community College, Certified carbon fiber and fiberglass manufacturer and several Avionics licenses from Everett Community College.
Age: 24
Birthplace: Kenmore, WA
Residence: Kenmore, WA
Years with Kenmore: 5
First Job at Kenmore: Customer Service Representative
A Memorable day at Kenmore
“Finishing a customer annual and getting it ready to come go into the lake, when the owners child ran up and gave me a big hug and said how excited she was that she can ride in her dad’s airplane again.”
