According to people in this career, the main tasks are...
| Task | Importance |
|---|---|
| Examine and inspect aircraft components, including landing gear, hydraulic systems, and deicers to locate cracks, breaks, leaks, or other problems. | 91% |
| Conduct routine and special inspections as required by regulations. | 89% |
| Inspect completed work to certify that maintenance meets standards and that aircraft are ready for operation. | 89% |
| Read and interpret maintenance manuals, service bulletins, and other specifications to determine the feasibility and method of repairing or replacing malfunctioning or damaged components. | 89% |
| Maintain repair logs, documenting all preventive and corrective aircraft maintenance. | 89% |
| Inspect airframes for wear or other defects. | 89% |
| Modify aircraft structures, space vehicles, systems, or components, following drawings, schematics, charts, engineering orders, and technical publications. | 89% |
| Measure parts for wear, using precision instruments. | 88% |
| 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. | 88% |
| Check for corrosion, distortion, and invisible cracks in the fuselage, wings, and tail, using x-ray and magnetic inspection equipment. | 87% |
| Obtain fuel and oil samples and check them for contamination. | 87% |
| 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. | 86% |
| Replace or repair worn, defective, or damaged components, using hand tools, gauges, and testing equipment. | 86% |
| 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. | 86% |
| Read and interpret pilots' descriptions of problems to diagnose causes. | 86% |
| Test operation of engines and other systems, using test equipment, such as ignition analyzers, compression checkers, distributor timers, or ammeters. | 85% |
| Measure the tension of control cables. | 85% |
| Spread plastic film over areas to be repaired to prevent damage to surrounding areas. | 85% |
| Remove or install aircraft engines, using hoists or forklift trucks. | 84% |
| Assemble and install electrical, plumbing, mechanical, hydraulic, and structural components and accessories, using hand or power tools. | 83% |
| Locate and mark dimensions and reference lines on defective or replacement parts, using templates, scribes, compasses, and steel rules. | 82% |
| Fabricate defective sections or parts, using metal fabricating machines, saws, brakes, shears, and grinders. | 82% |
| Reassemble engines following repair or inspection and reinstall engines in aircraft. | 81% |
| Service and maintain aircraft and related apparatus by performing activities such as flushing crankcases, cleaning screens, and or moving parts. | 81% |
| Clean, refuel, and change oil in line service aircraft. | 81% |
| Cure bonded structures, using portable or stationary curing equipment. | 81% |
| Trim and shape replacement body sections to specified sizes and fits and secure sections in place, using adhesives, hand tools, and power tools. | 80% |
| Listen to operating engines to detect and diagnose malfunctions, such as sticking or burned valves. | 79% |
| Accompany aircraft on flights to make in-flight adjustments and corrections. | 79% |
| Install and align repaired or replacement parts for subsequent riveting or welding, using clamps and wrenches. | 79% |
| Remove or cut out defective parts or drill holes to gain access to internal defects or damage, using drills and punches. | 79% |
| Inventory and requisition or order supplies, parts, materials, and equipment. | 78% |
| Clean engines, sediment bulk and screens, and carburetors, adjusting carburetor float levels. | 78% |
| Determine repair limits for engine hot section parts. | 77% |
| Clean, strip, prime, and sand structural surfaces and materials to prepare them for bonding. | 76% |
| Communicate with other workers to coordinate fitting and alignment of heavy parts, or to facilitate processing of repair parts. | 76% |
| Remove, inspect, repair, and install in-flight refueling stores and external fuel tanks. | 74% |
| Prepare and paint aircraft surfaces. | 73% |
