Andre Watson – 2024 Business Aviation Top 40 Under 40 Award Recipient

Maintenance

Andre Watson
Director of Aviation Maintenance, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Connect on LinkedIn

Andre Watson, CAM, attended A&P technician school in northern New Jersey at the busiest airport for business aviation in the country. He counts himself fortunate to have started his business aviation journey at one of the FBOs located there while attending school. He worked his way through various roles – from aircraft maintenance technician to quality control inspector and now director of aviation maintenance. Watson found his current position during an NBAA virtual job fair in 2020 and says the industry is seeing a positive shift in assigning leadership roles.

“What excites me most about business aviation now is more flight departments are starting to recognize that maintenance professionals and other business aviation professionals in the flight department with a non-flying background are qualified and eager to lead, and are ultimately earning roles as flight department managers and directors of aviation,” Watson says.