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Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians
Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul aircraft engines and assemblies, such as hydraulic and pneumatic systems.

Other names for Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians: Aircraft Accessories Mechanic, Aircraft Air Conditioning Mechanic, Aircraft Body and Bonded Structure Repairer, Aircraft Cylinder Mechanic, Aircraft Engine Mechanic, Aircraft Engine Specialist, Aircraft Engine Technician, Aircraft Magneto Mechanic, Aircraft Maintenance Director, Aircraft Maintenance Supervisor, Aircraft Maintenance Technician, Aircraft Mechanic, Aircraft Motor Mechanic, Aircraft Restorer, Aircraft Rigging and Controls Mechanic, Aircraft Steel Fabricator, Aircraft Structure Mechanic, Aircraft Technician, Aircraft Worker, Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic (A and P Mechanic), Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic Apprentice, Airframe Mechanic, Airframe Technician, Airline Mechanic, Airplane Mechanic, Airplane Mechanic Apprentice, Airplane Rigger, Airplane Technician, Airplane Tester, Aviation Maintenance Technician, Aviation Mechanic, Aviation Support Equipment Repairer, Burnisher and Bumper, Carburetor Expert, Carburetor Specialist, Dinkey Engine Mechanic, Engine Installer, Engineman, Experimental Aircraft Mechanic, Experimental Rocketsled Mechanic, Flight Test Mechanic, Flight Test Shop Mechanic, Fuel System Maintenance Worker, Heat and Vent Aircraft Mechanic, Helicopter Mechanic, Hydraulic Mechanic, Ignition Mechanic, Jet Aircraft Servicer, Jet Engine Mechanic, Jet Mechanic, Landing Gear Mechanic, Launching Pad Mechanic, Magneto Electrician, Mechanical Developer Prover, Metal Fabricator, Missile Mechanic, Pneudraulic Systems Mechanic, Power Plant Installer, Preflight Mechanic, Propeller Mechanic, Rocket Engine Component Mechanic, Rocket Engine Mechanic, Rotor Blade Installer, Supercharger Mechanic, Trouble Shooter, Vacuum System Tester, X Ray Examiner of Aircraft,

What do Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians do?
  • Read and interpret maintenance manuals, service bulletins, and other specifications to determine the feasibility and method of repairing or replacing malfunctioning or damaged components.
  • Inspect completed work to certify that maintenance meets standards and that aircraft are ready for operation.
  • Maintain repair logs, documenting all preventive and corrective aircraft maintenance.
  • Conduct routine and special inspections as required by regulations.
  • Examine and inspect aircraft components, including landing gear, hydraulic systems, and de-icers to locate cracks, breaks, leaks, or other problem.
  • Inspect airframes for wear or other defects.
  • 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, and seals.
  • Measure the tension of control cables.
  • Replace or repair worn, defective, or damaged components, using hand tools, gauges, and testing equipment.
  • Measure parts for wear, using precision instruments.
  • Assemble and install electrical, plumbing, mechanical, hydraulic, and structural components and accessories, using hand tools and power tools.
  • Test operation of engines and other systems, using test equipment such as ignition analyzers, compression checkers, distributor timers, and ammeters.
  • Obtain fuel and oil samples, and check them for contamination.
  • Reassemble engines following repair or inspection, and re-install engines in aircraft.
  • Read and interpret pilots' descriptions of problems in order to diagnose causes.
  • Modify aircraft structures, space vehicles, systems, or components, following drawings, schematics, charts, engineering orders, and technical publications.
  • Install and align repaired or replacement parts for subsequent riveting or welding, using clamps and wrenches.
  • Locate and mark dimensions and reference lines on defective or replacement parts, using templates, scribes, compasses, and steel rules.
  • Clean, strip, prime, and sand structural surfaces and materials to prepare them for bonding.
  • Service and maintain aircraft and related apparatus by performing activities such as flushing crankcases, cleaning screens, and lubricating moving parts.
  • 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.
  • Remove or install aircraft engines, using hoists or forklift trucks.
  • Inventory and requisition or order supplies, parts, materials, and equipment.
  • Fabricate defective sections or parts, using metal fabricating machines, saws, brakes, shears, and grinders.
  • Remove or cut out defective parts, or drill holes in order to gain access to internal defects or damage, using drills and punches.
  • Clean, refuel, and change oil in line service aircraft.
  • Communicate with other workers to coordinate fitting and alignment of heavy parts, or to facilitate processing of repair parts.
  • Trim and shape replacement body sections to specified sizes and fits, and secure sections in place, using adhesives, hand tools, and power tools.
  • Clean engines, sediment bulk and screens, and carburetors, adjusting carburetor float levels.
  • Prepare and paint aircraft surfaces.
  • Spread plastic film over areas to be repaired in order to prevent damage to surrounding areas.
  • Check for corrosion, distortion, and invisible cracks in the fuselage, wings, and tail, using x-ray and magnetic inspection equipment.
  • Disassemble engines, and inspect parts such as turbine blades and cylinders for corrosion, wear, warping, cracks, and leaks, using precision measuring instruments, x-rays, and magnetic inspection equipment.
  • Determine repair limits for engine hot section parts.
  • Cure bonded structures, using portable or stationary curing equipment.
  • Listen to operating engines to detect and diagnose malfunctions such as sticking or burned valves.
  • Accompany aircraft on flights in order to make in-flight adjustments and corrections.
  • Remove, inspect, repair, and install in-flight refueling stores and external fuel tanks.

Do you enjoy these?
  • Gas welding or brazing or cutting apparatus
  • Adjustable wrenches
  • Air compressors
  • Pneumatic drill
  • Jacks
  • Integrated maintenance information systems
  • Lifts
  • Alignment jig
  • Hex keys
  • Ammeters
  • Welders
  • Sockets
  • Hammers
  • Files
  • Borescope inspection equipment
  • Workshop presses
  • Punches or nail sets or drifts
  • Gas welding or brazing or cutting apparatus
  • Rivet tools
  • Cable splicing kits
  • Calipers
  • Punches or nail sets or drifts
  • Locking pliers
  • Hand clamps
  • Hold down clamps
  • Cold chisels
  • Squares
  • Combination wrenches
  • Compasses
  • Tinners snips
  • Circuit tester
  • Power drills
  • Wire lug crimping tool
  • Voltage or current meters
  • Desktop computers
  • Diagonal cut pliers
  • Gauges or inspection fixtures
  • Digital testers
  • Compasses
  • Drill bits
  • Workshop presses
  • Flat nose pliers
  • Power drills
  • End cut pliers
  • Box end wrenches
  • Ground power units for aircraft
  • Feeler gauges
  • Files
  • Screwdrivers
  • Cold chisels
  • Forklifts
  • Go or no go gauge
  • Power grinders
  • Saws
  • Hammers
  • Power drills
  • Nibblers
  • Hand trucks or accessories
  • Personal digital assistant PDAs or organizers
  • Ear muffs
  • Heat guns
  • Hoists
  • Microprocessors
  • Specialty wrenches
  • Magnifiers
  • Integrated maintenance information systems
  • Ground power units for aircraft
  • Ladders
  • Notebook computers
  • Laser printers
  • Lathes
  • Integrated maintenance information systems
  • Scribers
  • Magnetic particle examination equipment
  • Magnetic tools
  • Integrated maintenance information systems
  • Integrated maintenance information systems
  • Mallets
  • Manlift or personnel lift
  • Tape measures
  • Lifts
  • Micrometers
  • Multimeters
  • Integrated maintenance information systems
  • Needlenose pliers
  • Metal cutters
  • Metal cutters
  • Ohmmeters
  • Open end wrenches
  • Oscilloscopes
  • Paint sprayers
  • Personal computers
  • Screwdrivers
  • Punches or nail sets or drifts
  • Hammers
  • Rivet tools
  • Pneumatic impact wrenches
  • Integrated maintenance information systems
  • Wearable computing devices
  • Rectifiers
  • Lifts
  • Shears
  • Pressure indicators
  • Putty knives
  • Pyrometers
  • Screwdrivers
  • Ratchets
  • Calibrated resistance measuring equipment
  • Respirators
  • Diagonal cut pliers
  • Rivet tools
  • Rulers
  • Integrated maintenance information systems
  • Safety glasses
  • Diagonal cut pliers
  • Scaffolding
  • Scales
  • Screw extractors
  • Scribers
  • Metal cutters
  • Slip or groove joint pliers
  • Socket sets
  • Soldering irons or guns
  • Specialty wrenches
  • Pull spring balances
  • Squares
  • Cold chisels
  • Metal cutters
  • Tablet computers
  • Punches or nail sets or drifts
  • Templates
  • Speed sensors
  • Torque wrenches
  • Touch pads
  • Aircraft pushback or tow tractors
  • Ultrasonic examination equipment
  • Utility knives
  • Calipers
  • Vibration testers
  • Locking pliers
  • Voltage or current meters
  • Wearable computing devices
  • Portable data input terminals
  • Wearable computing devices
  • Goggles
  • Wire cutters
  • Stripping tools
  • X ray radiography examination equipment

Technology used
  • Inventory management software
  • Accounting software
  • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
  • Data base user interface and query software
  • Information retrieval or search software
  • Facilities management software
  • Analytical or scientific software
  • Computer aided manufacturing CAM software

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