Aircraft Maintenance Engineer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME) is a person licenced to certify maintenance performed on an aircraft. The Canadian equivalent to an American Aircraft Maintenance Technician, AMEs are licenced by Transport Canada to perform maintenance as per the Canadian Aviation Regulations.
[edit] Introduction
All aircraft, with the exception of certain homebuilt and ultralight planes, must carry a valid Certificate of Airworthiness to be legally allowed to fly. In order for this certificate to remain valid, all maintenance on the aircraft must be certified by a licenced AME. As well, all privately registered aircraft must be inspected a minimum of once every 365 days in order for the Certificate of Airworthiness to remain valid. This annual inspection must be certified by an AME. Finally, if a non-licenced person performs any work on an aircraft, an AME must check their work and again certify that it was correctly performed. AMEs therefore carry considerable legal responsibility for ensuring that work has been performed in accordance with the applicable standards of airworthiness.
[edit] Licensing
Most people become an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer by attending a Certified School registered under the aviation regulating authority of that country. In what is typically an 18 to 24 month program, they must learn everything that is required for maintenance of a typical airplane. This is followed by an apprenticeship period which usually takes a minimum of 4 years. (Depending on the school attended, a portion of that time may count towards their apprenticeship.) AMEs must also learn all of the sections of the Canadian Aviation Regulations which pertain to them. Finally, though an AME will learn a great deal about all aspects of aviation maintenance. For more complicated maintenance jobs called "specialized work", only an Approved Maintenance Organizations (AMO) certified to perform specific work can certify that particular job.
The different categories for specialization are:
- Airframe sheet metal structures
- Composite structures
- Deicing systems
- Electrical systems
- Components
- Engine overhauls
- Propellor overhauls
- Welding
