Courses Taught

Gas Turbine Engine Accident Investigation (GTAI)

Doug Pridemore

Biography

Mr. Doug Pridemore is currently employed as a pensioner by GE-Aerospace in Cincinnati, Ohio, after retiring as the Consulting Engineer in Failure Analysis in the Engineering and Materials System (EMS) Department. Mr. Pridemore has over 35 years of experience working in the field of gas turbine engine Failure Analysis (28 at GEA and 7 at Rolls-Royce), conducting numerous investigations on a wide variety of engine hardware ranging from rotating components (disks, spools) to airfoils (compressor, turbine) to composite structures (fan blades, ducts). Working on the whole engine system has led to a thorough understanding of the failure mechanisms affecting the materials used in today’s gas turbine engines. Mr. Pridemore has led numerous high-profile metallurgical investigations, including many uncontained engine events and military Class I mishaps while working with domestic and foreign government agencies (NTSB, Canadian TSB, French BEA, and military boards, etc.)
 
Other duties included consultation across other GE business lines, mentoring and developing other Failure Analysis engineers, plus shared years serving as a Materials Application Engineer. Mr. Pridemore also has litigation and deposition experience involving various engine events. Mr. Pridemore is familiar with commercial, military, and industrial GE-Aviation engine lines. Mr. Pridemore also currently teaches the FA portion of the Gas Turbine Accident Investigation (GTAI) course at the University of Southern California Aviation Safety Program, beginning in 2003.
 
Mr. Pridemore holds a B.S. and M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati. Graduate work was focused on "Delayed Cracking of Deep-Drawn Metastable Austenitic Stainless Steels," providing early experience in stress corrosion cracking and hydrogen embrittlement mechanisms. Mr. Pridemore has published several papers on various failure analysis mechanisms and is a current member and Fellow of the American Society of Metals (FASM). Mr. Pridemore also holds an Aviation Safety Certificate from the University of Southern California.