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Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians
Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul aircraft engines and assemblies, such as hydraulic and pneumatic systems.
Also Known As:
Aircraft Maintainer
Aircraft Maintenance Technician (Aircraft Maintenance Tech)
Aircraft Mechanic
Aircraft Restorer
Aircraft Service Technician (Aircraft Service Tech)
Aircraft Technician (Aircraft Tech)
Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic (A and P Mechanic)
Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT)
Aviation Mechanic
Helicopter Mechanic
Wages
Annual wages for Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians in United States
Job Outlook
Average
New job opportunities are likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
145,000
4% Change From 2024
Explore Avionics Technicians video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Examine and inspect aircraft components, including landing gear, hydraulic systems, and deicers to locate cracks, breaks, leaks, or other problems.
- Read and interpret pilots' descriptions of problems to diagnose causes.
- Remove or cut out defective parts or drill holes to gain access to internal defects or damage, using drills and punches.
- Modify aircraft structures, space vehicles, systems, or components, following drawings, schematics, charts, engineering orders, and technical publications.
- Reassemble engines following repair or inspection and reinstall engines in aircraft.
- Install and align repaired or replacement parts for subsequent riveting or welding, using clamps and wrenches.
- Service and maintain aircraft and related apparatus by performing activities such as flushing crankcases, cleaning screens, and or moving parts.
- Obtain fuel and oil samples and check them for contamination.
- Remove, inspect, repair, and install in-flight refueling stores and external fuel tanks.
- Measure parts for wear, using precision instruments.
- Remove or cut out defective parts or drill holes to gain access to internal defects or damage, using drills and punches.
- Listen to operating engines to detect and diagnose malfunctions, such as sticking or burned valves.
- Accompany aircraft on flights to make in-flight adjustments and corrections.
- Disassemble engines and inspect parts, such as turbine blades or cylinders, for corrosion, wear, warping, cracks, and leaks, using precision measuring instruments, x-rays, and magnetic inspection equipment.
- Cure bonded structures, using portable or stationary curing equipment.
- Inspect airframes for wear or other defects.
- Service and maintain aircraft and related apparatus by performing activities such as flushing crankcases, cleaning screens, and or moving parts.
- Trim and shape replacement body sections to specified sizes and fits and secure sections in place, using adhesives, hand tools, and power tools.
- Remove or install aircraft engines, using hoists or forklift trucks.
- Determine repair limits for engine hot section parts.
- Replace or repair worn, defective, or damaged components, using hand tools, gauges, and testing equipment.
- Remove, inspect, repair, and install in-flight refueling stores and external fuel tanks.
- Communicate with other workers to coordinate fitting and alignment of heavy parts, or to facilitate processing of repair parts.
- Clean engines, sediment bulk and screens, and carburetors, adjusting carburetor float levels.
- Conduct routine and special inspections as required by regulations.
- Service and maintain aircraft and related apparatus by performing activities such as flushing crankcases, cleaning screens, and or moving parts.
- Test operation of engines and other systems, using test equipment, such as ignition analyzers, compression checkers, distributor timers, or ammeters.
- Assemble and install electrical, plumbing, mechanical, hydraulic, and structural components and accessories, using hand or power tools.
- Spread plastic film over areas to be repaired to prevent damage to surrounding areas.
- Assemble and install electrical, plumbing, mechanical, hydraulic, and structural components and accessories, using hand or power tools.
- Fabricate defective sections or parts, using metal fabricating machines, saws, brakes, shears, and grinders.
- Read and interpret maintenance manuals, service bulletins, and other specifications to determine the feasibility and method of repairing or replacing malfunctioning or damaged components.
- Examine engines through specially designed openings while working from ladders or scaffolds, or use hoists or lifts to remove the entire engine from an aircraft.
- Inventory and requisition or order supplies, parts, materials, and equipment.
- Clean, strip, prime, and sand structural surfaces and materials to prepare them for bonding.
- Maintain repair logs, documenting all preventive and corrective aircraft maintenance.
- Assemble and install electrical, plumbing, mechanical, hydraulic, and structural components and accessories, using hand or power tools.
- Measure the tension of control cables.
- Clean, refuel, and change oil in line service aircraft.
- Remove, inspect, repair, and install in-flight refueling stores and external fuel tanks.
- Prepare and paint aircraft surfaces.
- Read and interpret maintenance manuals, service bulletins, and other specifications to determine the feasibility and method of repairing or replacing malfunctioning or damaged components.
- Check for corrosion, distortion, and invisible cracks in the fuselage, wings, and tail, using x-ray and magnetic inspection equipment.
- Maintain, repair, and rebuild aircraft structures, functional components, and parts, such as wings and fuselage, rigging, hydraulic units, oxygen systems, fuel systems, electrical systems, gaskets, or seals.
- Clean, refuel, and change oil in line service aircraft.
- Locate and mark dimensions and reference lines on defective or replacement parts, using templates, scribes, compasses, and steel rules.
- Inspect completed work to certify that maintenance meets standards and that aircraft are ready for operation.
- Replace or repair worn, defective, or damaged components, using hand tools, gauges, and testing equipment.
- Examine engines through specially designed openings while working from ladders or scaffolds, or use hoists or lifts to remove the entire engine from an aircraft.
- Inventory and requisition or order supplies, parts, materials, and equipment.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")