The aircraft requires scheduled or unscheduled maintenance due to its material’s predictable lifespan. This maintenance is the responsibility of an approved maintenance organization (AMOs) that has aircraft maintenance mechanics, technicians, and engineers (AMMTEs). Only license-carrying AMMTEs have the authority to sign on a maintenance release after the work is completed. Aviation is highly dependent upon qualified and competent AMMTEs. As the air traffic is rapidly increasing day by day, the requirement for new AMMTEs is also increasing. According to Boeing between 2016-2035 the industry will require 679,000 new AMMTEs worldwide. Due to advancements in technology, the aircraft systems have gotten more complex, so is a need for highly skilled professionals.
First Aviation Professionals
The maintenance engineers are known as the first aviation professionals because they were the first to design and build an aircraft before anyone had an opportunity to become a pilot. Also, the old aircraft requires an enormous number of maintenance hours per hour of flight. To keep the aircraft airworthy, the material on the aircraft needs to be overhauled regularly. Even today, many hours are required to make an aircraft airworthy.
The airframe and all the systems and components contain is made up of material that has a natural and predictable lifespan. Although engineers choose materials that have a longer lifespan, stresses from the physical world and the material’s fatigue reduce it. The stresses include environmental factors, design limitations, deterioration of materials, or human error. In short, maintenance is a very necessary, time-consuming, and expensive element in aviation operations.
Scope of AMMTEs
All the tasks that are related to maintaining the aircraft fall on aircraft maintenance, mechanics, technicians, and engineers (AMMTEs). The role of AMMTEs is seen within every sector of the Aviation industry, from OEM (original equipment manufacturer) to airlines and corporate departments. Also, they cover a wide range of operations in general aviation.
Working of AMMTEs
AMMTEs primary responsibility is to make an aircraft airworthy. They make it by regularly servicing, maintaining, and overhauling airframes, engines, avionics, and all the remaining components. The maintenance could be scheduled or unscheduled.
Scheduled and Unscheduled Maintenance
- Scheduled maintenance occurs at regular intervals of time that depend on the aircraft’s flying time, take-off/landing cycle, or days.
- Unscheduled maintenance is done when pilot-identified defects or the airworthiness directives (AD), or any other reason.
License vs Unlicensed AMMTEs
The license standards for maintenance were first published by ICAO in 1948 in Annex 1. Not all the AMMTEs working on-site carry license. They work under the supervision of a licensed holder, and he has the authority to sign a maintenance release.
To get a license, the trainee must complete practical training. Then he has to pass the written examination. Further they start doing practice and maintain their logbook, after 2-4 years they become eligible to earn license. This trade needs advanced knowledge with high technical skills. In some countries, aircraft technician would need around 7 years to earn the license.
Maintenance Work Environment
The maintenance work environment consists of a line, base, and shop.
- Line maintenance: Maintenance during the aircraft’s active service, which includes daily checks, turnaround maintenance, and short interval checks.
- Base maintenance: Maintenance when the aircraft is no longer online, it comes to the hangar. The work involves corrosion control, painting, or engine changes, among other modifications.
- Shop maintenance: The damaged parts are brought to their specific shops for performing maintenance, which are avionics, engine, electronics, or other component-related shops.
Approved Maintenance Organization
The approved maintenance organizations (AMOs) are those that give maintenance services to air operators. The requirements for AMOs are mentioned in ICAO Annex 6, The AMOs must be approved by CAA, and the approval is also limited based on the particular section the AMOs cover. For example, if the AMOs are approved for the aircraft structure, then it will only cover the aircraft structure part. If AMOs are approved for avionics, then they won’t be repairing engine parts. The CAA also has to appoint the licensed professional who has the authority to sign the maintenance release. MRO (Maintenance, repair, and overhaul) is the common use word for a maintenance organization.
Managing Maintenance Disruptions
In aviation industry, if a single aircraft gets technical it would have a wide range of impacts on the entire airline. Therefore, each company tries to optimize the use of each of its aircrafts. Here how the engineers and maintenance department maintain any disruption:
- Check the MEL: Minimum Equipment List identifies the necessary parts in the aircraft that allow the aircraft to perform its operations safely.
- Line replaceable units (LRU) are those parts that don’t require a lot of effort and time. They are removed and replaced quickly and easily.
- Equipment redundancy- these are the backup units. If some things fail to operate, the other will take over. For example, most aircraft have both a primary and a backup radio in the cockpit.
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