The Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer
Why the Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer is important:
The licensed engineer is the sole arbitrator of safety whilst the aircraft is on the ground. The Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer will only supply their signature to a Certificate of Release to Service (CRS) when he/she are 100% certain that the aircraft is safe to fly. The CRS is a legal statement clearing an aircraft, as far as engineering is concerned, to fly. In effect, the engineer has taken full responsibility for the quality of any maintenance performed while the aircraft was on the ground.
Why maintenance matters:
There is a close link between standards of maintenance and safety. The
International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has established minimum standards of airworthiness and operational safety for operating aircraft. The Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer has studied long and hard to obtain his qualification in accordance with ICAO requirements.
Why aviation is different from other sectors of industry:
The key feature making aviation different from other sectors of industry is
safety criticality. It is true that safety is also important for other transport sectors,
but the failure of a key system during aircraft operation is more likely to lead to
catastrophic results. The Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer is a key figure in ensuring that your flight was completed not only safely but also without event.
Why the year of the Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer:
Airline operators are under enormous pressure to produce a profit. The Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer and in fact maintenance as a whole are not often seen in the limelight and so are considered by many as an easy target for cost cutting. This type of cost cutting takes on many forms but needless to say very few are actually beneficial to you the passengers.
Recently an attempt was made by industry to severely reduce the involvement and effect of the Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer. This had the potential to have been the single most effective cost cutting exercise to have negatively affected safety to date. The License itself is an independently issued document belonging to the individual. This personal licence coupled with company supplied specific aircraft type training ensures that maintenance is performed and supervised by highly trained individuals.
As the link between standards of maintenance and safety has already been established by ICAO, any cut backs here can only increase the risks of air travel.
