Career Guide: Aircraft Maintenance

Aircraft maintenance is the overhaul, repair, inspection or modification of an aircraft or aircraft component. Maintenance may include such tasks as ensuring compliance with Airworthiness Directives or Service Bulletins. The maintenance of aircraft is highly regulated, in order to ensure safe and correct functioning during flight. Proper aircraft maintenance is essential for keeping aircraft and aircraft parts in optimal condition, and ensuring the safety of pilots, crew, and passengers. Maintenance of aircraft is a comprehensive, ongoing process. The entire aircraft needs to be examined, maintained, and have the necessary parts replaced to uphold the safety standards mandated by the FAA. Aircraft are required to be maintained after a certain period of calender time or flight hours or flight cycles. Also, some aircraft articles have a specific life (flight cycle) limit, and need to be replaced immediately upon reaching the maximum use requirements. Besides the aircraft articles that are due for replacement, all other parts need to be checked for faults or faulty performance.

About the Guide

This Career Guide provides guidance to people facing a variety of career challenges. These challenges may include dealing with redundancy, seeking a new job, changing careers, returning to work after a career break, building new skills, personal and professional development, going for promotion, and setting up a business. The common aim of the career guide, whatever the particular situation of the individual being guided, is normally to help that individual gain control of their career and, to some extent, their life. This comprehensive resource has been developed to provide you with a road map for your particular area of interest to shape the career as Aircraft Maintenance Engineer or Technician. Whether you are looking for that entry-level position, growing in your respective field, or making a career transition, the means to accomplish your goals are within this resource. The Career Guide looks at what an aircraft maintenance engineer or a technician is, the roles and responsibilities they carry out and the essential qualities needed to succeed.