Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value [Abstract]

Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value

3. Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value

Fair Value is the price that would be received from selling an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.  A fair value hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (level 3 measurements).  The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are described below:

Level 1: Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2: Observable inputs other than Level 1 prices, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

Level 3: Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of assets or liabilities.

The asset's or liability's fair value measurement level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of any input that is significant to the fair value measurement.  The valuation techniques used need to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs.  Fair values of the Company's long-term obligations approximate their carrying values as the applicable interest rates approximate the current market rates.

Following is a description of the valuation methodologies used for assets measured at fair value, which is included in cash and cash equivalents.  Money market fund was fully liquidated during the third quarter to fund the TASS acquisition.  There have been no changes in the methodologies used at September 30, 2012.

	Assets at Fair Value as of December 31, 2011
Recurring Fair Value Measurement:	Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Money market fund (1)	$	7,503	$	7,503	$	-	$	-
Non-recurring Fair Value Measurements:
Intangible assets, net (2)	$	17,642	$	-	$	-	$	17,642

(1) Institutional Money Market: Valued at the closing price reported on the active markets on which the individual securities are traded (Level 1).

(2) During the first quarter of 2011, a triggering event occurred with regard to a certain proprietary technology intangible asset as a result of a failure to conclude a possible sale of a product line.  The Company did not have plans to utilize this technology in the near term and believed the current market for the product line to be limited; thus, utilizing the income approach with a level 3 valuation, the Company expected zero cash flows.  As such, a full impairment loss of $1,163 was recognized as of March 31, 2011.  The impairment loss was recognized in the Aerostructures segment in the selling, general and administrative expenses line of the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2011.