An airplane consists of thousands of parts that must necessarily be maintained or repaired. The maintenance technician’s function is to control and repair the different structural elements of the aircraft: engines, fuselages, cells, tires, mechanical systems, electrical parts, etc. It plays a vital role in the safety and regularity of air transport.
He provides all the maintenance operations for the aircraft to be put back into service and carries out its flight program.
During stops, it examines the fundamental parts of the aircraft, provides maintenance, inspects and measures performance. He brings the measuring devices on board and questions the flight crew to draw up a report of the observed malfunctions. Depending on his experience and his specialty, he can be assigned to “small maintenance” made in stopover, in workshop (overhaul of engines and equipment), on the track, or at the “major maintenance” which corresponds to a revision major aircraft during scheduled visits (undressing of the aircraft and change of heavy parts like the engine).
Generalist, versatile and therefore able to carry out most repairs, this professional can also specialize in maintenance of engines, landing gear, hydraulic equipment, wheels and brakes or intervene on other parts of an airplane than the ones he usually works on.
The fact is that the assembly and disassembly, as the change of a room, require a very strict methodology. This is a manual job in which many tools and measuring devices are used. And it does not tolerate any approximation: the safety of the passengers is at this price!
Skills & actions
- Conduct inspection checks on aircraft structures and establish a diagnosis
- Read plans
- Identify breakdowns and malfunctions and make repairs
- Make parts by bending, bending, bending
- Adjust an element or sub-assembly made of composite and metallic materials
- Assemble parts by riveting
- Mastering aircraft technology, different types of engines, maintenance procedures
- Read technical English
Know-how
- Rigor and method
- Gesture skills and dexterity
- thoroughness
- Sense of observation
- Stress management
- Autonomy
- Ability to work in a team
- Sense of responsibility
Professional background
The maintenance technician works mainly in the workshop, in a hangar or on the runway for airlines, aviation maintenance service companies, flying club maintenance units and armed forces. Depending on the case, the job may involve moving and being away from home for several days or months.
After a few years of experience, he can evolve to other functions. He may have to work in “customer support”. In this case, he assists the customer (airline, for example) in the use, maintenance or modification of his aeronautical equipment. He analyzes his request and sends it to the relevant department.
Eventually, he negotiates with him the company’s proposals and draws up the commercial specifications for the requested operations. He can also go to a logistics technician function. It then provides an internal or external customer with the availability of parts, materials, equipment under optimal conditions of quantity, cost, time and quality (the management of stocks and orders).
