The cause of last month's fatal plane crash in South Korea is still unknown, but it has shined a spotlight on a subject little understood by the general public: how planes are maintained. .
Jeju Air, which operated the flight that killed 179 people, said a pre-flight inspection revealed no concerns and that the plane was a Boeing 737-800 manufactured about 15 years ago with no history of accidents.
There is no evidence that poor maintenance played a role in the crash, but experts say, as is always the case, the plane's repair history, including work done by maintenance companies in other countries, will be a key part of the crash investigation. are.
Here's what you need to know about how to maintain your airplane.
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Airline executives, pilots, mechanics, regulators, and others play important and overlapping roles in the maintenance of commercial jet aircraft.
On the front lines, the work is familiar to many travelers, even if you don't know what it's called. Line maintenance involves regular inspections and repairs between flights. Before a jet plane takes off, pilots perform a visual inspection, including a visual inspection, for damage or other problems. Airline mechanics also perform regular inspections. A mechanic can often troubleshoot issues quickly and fix them or safely patch them until they can address them later. Significant issues may result in significant delays or cancellations.
Additionally, every part of an airplane, down to the nuts and bolts, is regularly inspected, repaired, and replaced. These checks are typically scheduled based on aircraft usage, number of flights, time, or a combination of these factors. These inspections are overseen by aviation authorities around the world, many of which follow guidance from the Federal Aviation Administration or their European Union counterpart regulators.
When it comes to more intensive maintenance, which can take planes out of service for days or weeks, the world's largest airlines do much of the work themselves. Some airlines, such as Lufthansa and Delta, sell these services to other companies. But all airlines outsource at least some work to companies that make parts and planes, such as Boeing and Airbus, or to third parties. Small carriers in particular rely on practices.
“If you look at the long tail of aircraft operators, most of them are so small that it never makes sense for them to invest capital in them,” said Jonathan Berger, founding partner at consulting firm Alton Aviation. It's not happening,” he says. “Outsourcing has been around since time immemorial.”
The rise of outsourcing
Outsourcing has always played a role in the aviation sector, but it has accelerated in recent decades. In the United States, the percentage of spending outsourced to airline maintenance more than doubled from 1990 to 2011, rising from about 20 percent to more than 44 percent, according to a 2012 Congressional Research Service report. Airlines typically do not disclose such spending, and few outside the industry track or estimate it.
Airlines around the world still perform almost all of their route maintenance. However, companies that specialize in aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul are often contracted out for more comprehensive work. The work typically falls into three categories, covering the airframe: the airplane's fuselage, wings, tail, engines, and various other components.
Because labor costs make up a large portion of aircraft maintenance costs, airlines from wealthy countries often send their labor to countries with lower wages. For example, some US airlines send planes to El Salvador, and Western European airlines send planes to Eastern Europe.
In the case of engines, outsourcing to low-income countries won't save airlines much, since material costs make up a large portion of repair costs. Still, Berger said, repairing these large machines is expensive and complex, so much of the work is often outsourced to engine manufacturers. Most jet engines for large airliners are manufactured by several companies in the United States and Europe.
The global network of maintenance providers is a growing market worth more than $100 billion. Supporters say it will allow airlines, especially low-cost carriers, to plan costs and focus on what they do best: planning, selling and operating flights. Airlines also benefit because they can rely on experts who focus on specific types of maintenance or aircraft.
Is outsourcing safe?
Many aviation industry experts say outsourcing is safe and necessary, pointing out that the FAA oversees the maintenance of U.S. aircraft no matter where the outsourcing occurs. But some consumer groups and labor unions representing mechanics in the U.S. have expressed concerns about this.
“It's just wrong for the industry to deny that there is a quality problem,” said the progressive American Economic Liberties Project, who spent decades as a passenger advocate before lawmakers and regulators. said William J. McGee, a senior researcher at . group.
In the 2000s and early 2010s, the Department of Transportation's inspector general investigated the FAA's oversight of overseas and domestic repair stations and found it lacking. Aircraft mechanics have reported finding obvious mistakes on planes that have returned from repair shops overseas. Labor unions such as the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Transportation Workers Union have also expressed concern that overseas workers are not held to the same rigorous standards as workers in the United States.
The FAA recently addressed some of these concerns. This month, new agency rules began requiring overseas repair shops to conduct drug and alcohol testing for employees performing certain safety-sensitive maintenance, affecting 977 locations in 65 countries. It will be extended.
“This rule ensures that these employees are held to the same high standards of safety regardless of their physical location,” outgoing FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said in a statement last month. said.
Advocates of outsourcing say that today's oversight by airlines and the FAA is strict, and that although there have been some shocking crashes and accidents, flying commercial aircraft is no more common than flying in other common areas such as cars, buses, and trains. They point out that it is much safer than traditional means of transportation.
Maintenance needs are increasing
Despite a significant slowdown early in the pandemic, air travel recovered much faster than the industry expected. Airlines are currently working hard to expand and upgrade their fleets.
However, the two largest jet manufacturers, Boeing and Airbus, are struggling to mass produce aircraft. Boeing has been forced to slow production in recent years after two fatal crashes involving its most popular jet, the 737 Max, in 2018 and 2019. Last year, it was forced to do something similar again after a panel on a Max jet blown off while it was in flight, and in the fall it significantly halted Max production during a seven-week strike.
Airlines also had to ground Airbus planes and conduct unexpected inspections of Pratt & Whitney engines after Pratt & Whitney engine manufacturers discovered quality defects. . Airbus and Boeing are also struggling with lingering problems during the pandemic, including shortages of parts and skilled labor.
Slow deliveries of new planes are forcing airlines to use older planes longer, which, while safer, often require more maintenance. New engines are packed with new technology that increases efficiency, but require more modification and maintenance than expected.
However, the number of people pursuing careers in aircraft maintenance has not kept up with demand.
“Airplanes are not only employed by airlines, they are also “Airlines and corporate airlines are hiring.” “And then there are industries that didn’t really even exist when I graduated in 1986, like the space industry and unmanned aircraft systems.”
