WHY WE HAVE TO

DO MAINTENANCE?

Why do we have to do Maintenance?

1. The maintenance of an aircraft provides assurance of flight safety, reliability,
and airworthiness.

2. According to the specifications of the company and the aircraft manufacturer,

the aircraft maintenance department is in charge of carrying out all

maintenance tasks.

3. The aircraft maintenance department provides maintenance and preventive

maintenance to ensure reliability, which translates into aircraft availability.

4. These features do not prevent a part or system from randomly failing or
degrading, but regular maintenance and inspections will stop this from
happening and keep the aircraft in good flying condition.

5. The goal of maintenance is to have a safe, reliable, and airworthy aircraft.

Role of the Aviation Engineer
1. The technology or state of the art in any field of design work may prevent a

design engineer from creating the ideal design.

2. Although the designer is limited by many factors, in the tradition of good

engineering practice, the designer is obliged to build the best system
possible within the constraints given.

3. He/She may be limited by ability or technique; or, more often than not, the
designer may be limited by economics; i.e., there just is not enough money
to build that nearly perfect system that is on the drawing board or in the
designer’s mind.
Role of the Aircraft Mechanic
1. On the other hand, the mechanic—also known as a repairer, maintainer, or
an
aircraft maintenance technician—has a different issue. Some components or
systems deteriorate with use, while others deteriorate with inactivity (due to
time or environmental factors).

2. The system may suffer premature deterioration or degradation due to misuse

by an operator or user, or it may even sustain outright damage. The
system's overall entropy has risen as a result of this deterioration or
degradation.
3. Therefore, the mechanic's job is to prevent the natural, ongoing increase in

the entropy of the system during its operational lifetime, whereas the

engineer's job is to minimize the entropy of a system during design.

Reliability

1. The reliability of the system is another term for the degree of perfection.
2. The inherent reliability of that system is the degree of perfection formed into

it. This is the best the system can perform when used in real-life situations.
3. Keep in mind that system reliability cannot be increased beyond this inherent
level by any amount of maintenance. However, it is ideal for the operator to
consistently uphold this level of reliability.
Failure Rate Patterns

1. One significant fact that must be acknowledged is that not all systems or

components degrade and fail at the same rate, nor do they all show the

same wear-out and failure pattern.

2. It stands to reason that these failure rates and failure patterns would be
correlated with the type of maintenance done on these systems and
components.
Maintenance Considerations

1. The aviation industry has developed three management techniques for

addressing the in-service interruptions created by the items that must be
operated to failure before maintenance can be done.

2. These are equipment redundancy, line replaceable units, and minimum

aircraft dispatch requirements.

3. The concept of redundancy of certain components or systems is quite

common in engineering design of systems where a high reliability is
desirable.
4. In the case of redundant units—usually called primary and backup units—if
one unit fails, the other is available to take over the function. For example, in
aviation most commercial jets have two high-frequency (HF) radios.

5. Only one is needed for communications, but the second one is there for
backup in case the first one fails.

6. A unique feature of redundant units also affects the maintenance

requirements.
7. If both primary and backup units are instrumented such that the flight crew
is
aware of any malfunction, no prior maintenance check is required to indicate
that incapability.

8. On the other hand, if neither system is so instrumented, maintenance

personnel would need to perform some check on both primary and
backup systems (at the transit or other check) to determine
serviceability.

9. Very often, however, one system (usually the backup) is instrumented to

show
serviceability to the crew. If a maintenance check is performed on the other
(i.e., the primary) the crew can be assured that it is serviceable.
10. In the case of failure, then, they already have a positive indication,
through
the instrumentation, that the backup system is available and useable.

11. The purpose for this arrangement is to strike a balance between how much
instrumentation is used and how much maintenance is required to ensure
system serviceability.

12. In some cases, the backup system is automatically switched into service
when the primary system fails. Flight crew needs during the flight are
primary concerns in making such decisions.
13. Another common concept used in aviation is the line replaceable unit (LRU).
An LRU is a component or system that has been designed in such a manner
that the parts that most commonly fail can be quickly removed and replaced
on the vehicle.

14. This allows the vehicle to be returned to scheduled service without undue
delay for maintenance. The failed part, then, can either be discarded or
repaired in the shop as necessary without further delaying the flight.

15. The third concept for minimizing delays for maintenance in aviation is known
as the minimum equipment list (MEL).
16. This list allows a vehicle to be dispatched into service with certain
items
inoperative provided that the loss of function does not affect the safety
and operation of the flight.

17. These items are carefully determined by the manufacturer and sanctioned
by
the regulatory authority during the early stages of vehicle design and test.

18. The manufacturer issues a master minimum equipment list (MMEL)

which
includes all equipment and accessories available for the aircraft model.
19. The airline then tailors the document to its own configuration to produce
the
MEL. Many of these MEL items are associated with redundant systems.

20. The concept of the MEL allows deferral of maintenance without upsetting
the
mission requirements. The maintenance, however, must be performed
within certain prescribed periods, commonly 1, 3, 10, or 30 days, depending
on the operational requirements for the system.

21. The items are identified in the MMEL by flight crew personnel during
the
latter stages of new aircraft development.
22. Thus, flight personnel determine what systems they can safely fly the mission
without or in a degraded condition
Importance of Having Maintenance

1. These flight crew personnel also determine how long (1, 3, 10, or 30
days)
they can tolerate this condition.

2. Although this is determined in general terms prior to delivering the airplane,

the flight crew on board makes the final decision based on actual conditions
at the time of dispatch.

3. The pilot in command (PIC) can, based on existing circumstances, decide

not
to dispatch until repairs are made or can elect to defer maintenance per the
airline’s MEL. Maintenance must abide by that decision.
4. Associated with the MEL is a dispatch deviation guide (DDG) that
contains
instructions for the line maintenance crew when the deviation requires
some maintenance action that is not necessarily obvious to the
mechanic.

5. A dispatch deviation guide is published by the airplane manufacturer

to
instruct the mechanic on these deviations.

6. The DDG contains such information as tying up cables and capping

connectors from removed units, opening and placarding circuit breakers to
prevent inadvertent power-up of certain equipment during flight, and any
other maintenance action that needs to be taken for precautionary
reasons. Similar to the MEL is a configuration deviation list (CDL).
7. This list provides information on dispatch of the airplane in the event that
certain panels are missing or when other configuration differences not
affecting safety are noted.

8. The non-essential equipment and furnishing (NEF) items list contain the
most
commonly deferred items that do not affect airworthiness or safety of the
flight of the aircraft. This is also a part of the MEL system.

9. Although failures on these complex aircraft can occur at random and can
come at inopportune times, these three management actions—redundancy
of design, line replaceable units, and minimum dispatch requirements—
can
help to smooth out the workload and reduce service interruptions.
Establishing A Maintenance Program

1. Aviation equipment, no matter how good or how reliable, still needs attention

from time to time.

2. Scheduled maintenance and servicing are needed to ensure the designed-in

level of perfection (reliability).

3. We have seen that components and systems fail in different ways and at

different rates. This results in a requirement for unscheduled maintenance

that is somewhat erratic and uncertain.

4. Occasionally, inspections and/or modifications of equipment are

dictated—within specified time limits—by aviation regulators as well as by

manufacturers.

5. It is necessary, that the maintenance and engineering organization of an

airline be prepared to address the maintenance of aircraft and aircraft

systems with a well-thought-out and well executed program.

6. The program discussed has been created over the years by concentrated and

integrated efforts by pilots, airlines, maintenance people, manufacturers,

component and system suppliers, regulatory authorities, and professional

and business organizations within the aviation industry.

7. Not every airline will need to be organized and operated in the same manner

or style, but the programs and activities will apply to all operators.