ATTLA office ensures safe cargo from point A to B

Photo By James Varhegyi | You might say the Air Transportability Test Loading Activity, or ATTLA, is a small office with a global reach. The small group of nine located in the AFLCMC Engineering Directorate is responsible for what we call certifying unusual or problematic cargo. In short, nothing flies on Air Force aircraft unless this team has done an assessment and published detailed instructions loading, positioning, securing, etc. “It's sort of like your instructions on how to get a large grand piano into your house,” said Mark Kuntavanish, ATTLA Chief, on a recent episode of AFLCMC’s Leadership Log podcast. “You know it may look like it fits into your House, but once you try you can't get it through the front door until remove the legs. If you live in an apartment building, you may have to hoist it up the building. It also includes how to properly package, the cargo to protect it from the air, the flight environment which can be more severe than just driving down the road like you're putting something in a moving van.” (U.S. Air Force graphic by Jim Varhegyi)  

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, OHIO, UNITED STATES

01.25.2022

Story by Daryl Mayer 

Air Force Life Cycle Management Center

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, Ohio (AFLCMC) – You might say the Air Transportability Test Loading Activity, or ATTLA, is a small office with a global reach.

The small group of nine located in the AFLCMC Engineering Directorate is responsible for what we call certifying unusual or problematic cargo. In short, nothing flies on Air Force aircraft unless this team has done an assessment and published detailed instructions loading, positioning, securing, etc.

“It's sort of like your instructions on how to get a large grand piano into your house,” said Mark Kuntavanish, ATTLA Chief, on a recent episode of AFLCMC’s Leadership Log podcast. “You know it may look like it fits into your House, but once you try you can't get it through the front door until remove the legs. If you live in an apartment building, you may have to hoist it up the building. It also includes how to properly package, the cargo to protect it from the air, the flight environment which can be more severe than just driving down the road like you're putting something in a moving van.”

Perhaps not the best way to move a piano, but the office also studies and issues instructions on airdropping people and cargo using parachutes.

The team includes a current and three former loadmasters, who are flight crew members who travel with their assigned aircraft and are responsible for everything loaded onto it. It is important, Kuntavanish said, to have the level of cargo expertise that is the stock and trade of loadmasters directly involved in these evaluations. The rest of the team are mechanical or aerospace engineers with specialized knowledge of aerodynamics and structures. .

“It's clearly an important thing, because we need to protect personnel, we need to protect the aircraft, and we need to protect the cargo that were transporting,” Kuntavanish said.

The office maintains a SharePoint repository of nearly 9,000 pieces of cargo they are certified to travel with detailed transportation instructions for each. When new items need to be transported, requestors start the process by emailing [e-mail]. You can find instructions for airlifting cargo on MIL-STD-1791, available in the public domain.

Typically, they will need photos, illustrations or detailed drawings to make their assessment and issue a certification in 45-60 days, Kuntavanish said. ATTLA can adjust their schedule depending on the urgency. ATTLA has been an integral part of emergency airlift missions for combat and humanitarian relief.

• Date Taken: 01.25.2022
• Date Posted: 01.26.2022 20:53
• Story ID: 413480
• Location: WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, OHIO, US