The Death to Downtime
Podcast

Tales from an Aviation Legend: Duane Cornella

What really causes airline downtime? It’s not just parts or processes—it’s communication. In this deep-dive feature, veteran tech ops leader Duane Cornella reflects on 41 years in aviation, from releasing aircraft at sunrise to managing global crises. He shares the unseen pressures behind midnight maintenance shifts, the cost of poor communication, and why listening is as critical as wrenching. For airline tech ops leaders and CIOs, this is a rare look into the systems, people, and decisions that keep aircraft moving—and what breaks when those elements fall out of sync.