Salary and Outlook

According to the US Department of Labor, there are 131,700 people employed as aircraft mechanics and service technicians in the United States. The median annual salary is $65,380. Entry level employees earn approximately $38,270 per year and senior employees earn approximately $98,590 per year.

Estimates do not include other potential benefits such as health insurance, overtime pay, or retirement benefits that may be offered by employers.

Job Duties

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

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