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Airplane Mechanic Career Interview
Louie Key has been an airplane mechanic for over 30 years for Alaska Airlines and currently works out of Seattle, Washington. He is the current National Director of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA).
Airplane Mechanic Career Path
Louie was born into the field of airplane mechanics.
“My grandfather and father worked as an airplane mechanic in their careers,” he says. “My stepfather was the head of an airplane mechanic school in Fairbanks, Alaska”
Because of this family affiliation, Louie started down his own path toward the same field.
Airplane Mechanic Experiences
Louie has worked for Alaska Airlines as an airframe and powerplant mechanic since 1979. His entire career has been in this airline, and he has spent time working in both heavy maintenance, which is maintenance on the planes while they are in the hangar, and flight line work, which is inspection of the planes as they come into the airport.
Louie received his airframe and powerplant license in 1979 and has received an Associate’s degree in applied science in aviation technology from the University of Alaska.
Airplane Mechanic Degree Programs
“You have to have an airframe and powerplant license,” says Louie. “To get that, you have to have 2,000 hours worth of instruction and take written, oral, and practical tests by the FAA.”
Instead of the instruction, airplane mechanics can also verify their experience if they have sufficient military experience. You must take the three tests, though, before you can become a mechanic.
Airplane Mechanic Job Description
Louie is an airframe and powerplant mechanic for Alaska Airlines, and he has worked there for over 30 years.
He is also the National Director of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association.
Airplane Mechanic Daily Routine
“The first thing a mechanic needs to know is that the airline industry is that the airline industry is a 24-hour industry,” Louie explains.
When airplane mechanics are just beginning, they primarily work the heavy maintenance, which is inspecting and repairing the airplanes while they rest in the hangar. Mechanics are assigned a particular task, such as repairing the hydraulic system, and must perform this task for every airplane. This work must be done at night while the planes are not active, and it requires a lot of paperwork, inspection, and maintenance manuals.
After a mechanic develops his or her skill and has more seniority, he or she can do flight line work. This is done during the day while the planes arrive and depart, and a mechanic’s work always changes depending on what is wrong with the plane.
“You do a visual inspection of the aircrafts for your flights, such as checking the tires, looking for leaks, and inspecting any kind of damage,” says Louie. “I prefer flight line because it’s a quicker pace and there’s more variety: you never know what’s going to come in on the next flight.”
Airplane Mechanic: Steps to Success
Airplane mechanics must have excellent technical and analytical skills because of all the components that they must work with and expertly repair.
A successful airplane mechanic must have exceptional motor skills since he or she will have to physically deal with all of the parts of the plane. “You must be physically capable of doing the job,” adds Louie. “You have to be able to get to all the spots of the plane.”
Besides the technical and physical skills involved, working on an airplane can also be extremely intimidating.
“There is so much that you have to learn,” says Louie. “It is overwhelming at first. As you go on, you learn a flow to the many different instruments in the cockpit.”
Since a mechanic is responsible for the safety and well being of a plane, he or she has to be able to handle the immense responsibility. If a mechanic forgets to fix one thing, it can wreck an entire plane.
“After doing this for so many years,” Louie retells, “I witnessed a new mechanic who was working the graveyard shift , and his airplane had a complete hydraulic failure. The new guy was going through everything he had done because he was very upset and nervous that he caused the failure.”
Airplane Mechanic Job Opportunities
Due to the current trend of airlines outsourcing their maintenance work to third-party vendors, the job market for airplane mechanics is dwindling.
“Airlines are just not hiring as many as they used to,” adds Louie.
Airplane Mechanic Favorite Aspect
“You never know what’s coming next,” says Louie. “I love the unexpected and being able to address the unexpected. You never know what the next flight is going to be. The challenge of being able to troubleshoot and being up against the clock creates a certain satisfaction in doing the work.”
Airplane Mechanic’s Future Ambitions
Louie loves the job that he’s had, which is good since he has had it for over 30 years. However, he is concerned about the shrinking mechanic field.
“Aircraft maintenance has changed a lot,” explains Louie. “Every airline used to have their own repair facilities. Now, vendors open up and become specialists in certain repair aspects, which has resulted in a huge increase in use of these vendors and huge layoffs in the airlines.”
Advice for Future Airplane Mechanics
“We need people that are dedicated to the work,” says Louie. “We need people with the immense skill sets. We need people who recognize the challenges and are willing to meet the challenges.”
Louie recommends to really question whether or not you want to pursue the occupation before you try it. Due to the current outsourcing trend, it can be difficult to get jobs with the airlines, and the jobs with the airlines are the best ones for airplane mechanics.
“Just know that this job does require a high level of proficiency,” Louie advises. “The conditions can be challenging. You should know about the demands and scrutiny involved in the job. When you change an airplane engine, your name is attached to that engine until it is changed again, which could be years later. If there is a failure down the line, the NTSB and the FAA will be reviewing your work.. However, knowing that you have that responsibility to the flying public creates a certain level of job satisfaction.”
