Leadership

Engineers Leading Airworthiness-
Critical Work.

TDA is led by experienced engineers who stay 
connected to the technical work. Our leadership team provides long-term continuity, disciplined 
oversight, and direct technical engagement for 
mission-critical aviation programs.

Talk to an engineer

How We Lead

Technical Leadership with Real Accountability.

At TDA, leadership is hands-on by design. Our executives and engineering leaders stay involved in technical direction and program execution, ensuring engineering rigor, responsiveness, and continuity across long-term airworthiness work.

Executive Team

Dr. Chance McColl has more than 30 years of experience in aerospace engineering, specializing in aircraft structures, loads, fatigue, durability, and structural life management. As President of Technical Data Analysis, Inc. (TDA), he oversees the company’s engineering and software development organizations, supporting fixed-wing, rotary-wing, and unmanned aircraft programs for U.S. military, government, international, and commercial customers.

Since joining TDA in 2001, Dr. McColl has led the development and application of advanced engineering methodologies and software solutions used to assess aircraft structural integrity, track fatigue life consumption, and support fleet sustainment decisions. Prior to TDA, he served as a lead loads engineer at Boeing and Lockheed Martin, supporting major aircraft development programs.

Dr. McColl earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder and both Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Since 2015, Dr. McColl has served as a Professor of the Practice in the School of Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Tech, teaching courses including Flight Dynamics, Rotorcraft Design, System Dynamics and Vibration, Aircraft Control Systems, Aircraft Structures, Mechanics of Deformable Bodies, and Statics. Since 2004, he has taught or co-taught more than 30 short courses on aircraft loads, fatigue testing, structural durability, and fatigue spectra development for organizations including the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, and aerospace industry partners.

Mr. Chris Thaiss has more than 24 years of aerospace engineering experience, specializing in aircraft loads analysis, flight testing, aircraft certification, and structural integrity assessments for both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. As Vice President of TDA, he helps lead the company’s engineering operations and technical strategy while supporting a broad range of military aviation programs.

Throughout his career, Mr. Thaiss has developed static and dynamic loads models using both physics-based and empirical methodologies. He has worked closely with Department of Defense engineering organizations to develop aircraft flight test procedures, instrumentation plans, and data collection strategies supporting aircraft certification and sustainment efforts.

Prior to joining TDA in 2008, Mr. Thaiss worked for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Marietta, Georgia, where he supported the C-5M Galaxy modernization program as a flight controls engineer and flight test analyst. His responsibilities included flight control system development, aircraft stability and control analysis, and onboard flight test support.

Mr. Thaiss holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from Virginia Tech and a Master of Science degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Leadership

Mr. Jeffrey Moore serves as Director of Operations for TDA’s Lexington Park, Maryland office and brings more than 30 years of experience supporting Navy aircraft structural integrity and fleet sustainment programs.

In this role, he oversees the collection, management, and processing of aircraft flight recorder data used to assess fleet usage and structural life consumption. Mr. Moore leads teams responsible for transforming large-scale operational data into relational databases and analytical products that support fatigue life tracking, aircraft readiness forecasting, maintenance planning, and safety-of-flight decisions.

In addition to his operational responsibilities, Mr. Moore provides leadership for TDA’s information technology infrastructure and data systems, ensuring secure, reliable, and scalable support for mission-critical customer programs.

Mr. Moore earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Computer Science from Le Moyne College and combines deep technical expertise in software systems, data management, and defense aviation analytics to help maximize fleet availability and operational readiness.

Mr. Ty Connell has been a member of the TDA team since 2002 and serves as Director of Software Engineering, leading the design, development, deployment, and long-term sustainment of the company’s software products and enterprise applications.

Over more than two decades with TDA, Mr. Connell has managed software development teams supporting U.S. military aviation programs, aircraft structural integrity initiatives, and fleet life management systems. He provides technical leadership across the full software development lifecycle, including requirements development, architecture design, implementation, testing, cybersecurity, configuration management, and customer deployment.

Mr. Connell serves as the principal technical lead for TDA’s Aircraft Component Tracking System (ACTS), a comprehensive enterprise platform used to track aircraft components, maintenance actions, configuration histories, life-limited parts, and fleet readiness metrics. Under his leadership, ACTS has evolved into a mission-critical system supporting aircraft lifecycle management and sustainment activities.

His experience spans modern software engineering technologies and methodologies, including web-based application development, relational database design, cloud and enterprise architectures, software quality assurance, cybersecurity best practices, systems integration, and Agile development processes. He has led development efforts utilizing technologies such as Microsoft .NET, C#, SQL Server, JavaScript-based web applications, data analytics tools, and secure enterprise information systems.

Mr. Connell holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the University of Georgia.

Ms. Judy Jackson-Washington serves as TDA’s Senior Contracts Administrator, supporting all company locations and bringing more than 22 years of experience in both federal and commercial contracting environments.

Since joining TDA, she has been responsible for managing a wide range of contract administration functions, including contract review and negotiation, subcontract administration, government property management, representations and certifications, compliance tracking, and regulatory reporting. Her extensive knowledge of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), and related federal requirements has proven invaluable in supporting TDA’s government contracting operations.

Ms. Jackson-Washington also plays a key role in maintaining TDA’s compliance infrastructure, supporting ISO quality management activities, internal audits, DD Form 882 tracking, subcontractor oversight, and other business systems essential to successful government contract execution.

She earned a Master of Business Administration from Strayer University and a Certificate in Contracts Administration from the University of Virginia. Through active participation in professional contracting organizations and continuing education programs, she remains current on the evolving regulatory landscape affecting federal contractors and defense industry partners.

Ms. Patricia Walk has served as TDA’s Senior Controller for nearly 20 years and is responsible for the company’s financial management, accounting operations, human resources administration, payroll, and employee benefits programs.

In her role, Ms. Walk oversees all aspects of corporate accounting, including financial reporting, budgeting, cash management, accounts payable and receivable, tax coordination, audit support, and government contract financial compliance. She works closely with company leadership to support strategic planning, financial forecasting, and operational decision-making.

In addition to her financial responsibilities, Ms. Walk leads TDA’s human resources functions, including payroll administration, employee onboarding, benefits management, policy implementation, personnel record management, and support for recruiting and employee development initiatives. Her work helps ensure that TDA maintains efficient business operations while providing employees with a strong administrative and benefits infrastructure.

Through nearly two decades of service, Ms. Walk has played a key role in supporting TDA’s growth, financial stability, and organizational development.

Ms. Walk holds a Bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech.

Work with TDA

If you need independent life-cycle assessment, loads, and fatigue expertise, or fleet-level tracking support TDA’s leadership remains directly involved in delivering disciplined, defensible guidance.