Dale Arthur Meiler, floor inspector at Fort Lauderdale Executive airport's Banyan Air Service in Florida, has received the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award by the FAA. He is one of 3,018 recipients of The Charles Taylor Award, the most prestigious FAA award to an aviation maintenance technician. Named in honour of Charles Taylor, the first aviation mechanic in powered flight, award recipients are required to have 50 years of civil and/or military maintenance experience with no violations.

Meiler began his aviation maintenance career in the US Army as a helicopter mechanic and served in the Vietnam War. After the military, he graduated from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University with his A&P licence. He joined Banyan Air Service in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on 9 September 1983 as lead technician. During those early years, he was crucial to Banyan's maintenance department's certification because of his experience and relationship with the FAA. He added quality into the inspection process and increased awareness, safety and efficiency for the entire MRO department as floor inspector.

“It was an honour and a pleasure to work with a man of Dale's calibre. His professionalism and integrity served as bookends to his core commitment to quality and our customers' safety,” says Lewis Homsher, quality manager of MRO Services at Banyan.

Meiler has mentored countless junior technicians and has been promoted to several positions of increased responsibilities during his 37 years with the Banyan team. He was also the recipient of the NATA Technician of the Year award in 2006.