Will aircraft mechanics be replaced by AI?
Updated
Aircraft mechanics score 17 of 100 for AI exposure. 81% of their task time still needs a person. AI can do 6% today and speed up another 13%.
- 6% AI can do it
- 13% AI helps
- 81% Needs a person
Low exposure
Lower than 85% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 38 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 2 of them today, speeds up 5 and leaves 31 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Inventory and requisition or order supplies, parts, materials, and equipment. Inventory and purchase requisitions are routine digital tasks. | 75% AI can do it |
| Maintain repair logs, documenting all preventive and corrective aircraft maintenance. Logbook entries are structured text drafted from work data. | 70% AI can do it |
| Read and interpret maintenance manuals, service bulletins, and other specifications to determine the feasibility and method of repairing or replacing malfunctioning or damaged components. AI can search and summarize manuals; mechanic decides feasibility. | 60% AI helps |
| Read and interpret pilots' descriptions of problems to diagnose causes. AI can parse pilot write-ups and suggest likely causes. | 60% AI helps |
| Determine repair limits for engine hot section parts. AI can look up limits in manuals; engineering judgement stays human. | 35% AI helps |
| Test operation of engines and other systems, using test equipment, such as ignition analyzers, compression checkers, distributor timers, or ammeters. Engine test runs are hands-on; AI can interpret instrument readings. | 25% AI helps |
| Modify aircraft structures, space vehicles, systems, or components, following drawings, schematics, charts, engineering orders, and technical publications. AI can read engineering orders; modification work is physical. | 20% AI helps |
| Conduct routine and special inspections as required by regulations. Regulatory inspections are physical; AI only helps with checklists. | 18% Needs a person |
| Check for corrosion, distortion, and invisible cracks in the fuselage, wings, and tail, using x-ray and magnetic inspection equipment. Operating NDT equipment on aircraft is physical; image reading assists slightly. | 18% Needs a person |
| Inspect completed work to certify that maintenance meets standards and that aircraft are ready for operation. Certification carries legal signature liability; inspection is physical. | 15% Needs a person |
Show the other 28 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Examine and inspect aircraft components, including landing gear, hydraulic systems, and deicers to locate cracks, breaks, leaks, or other problems. Finding cracks and leaks needs hands-on visual and tactile inspection. | 15% Needs a person |
| Obtain fuel and oil samples and check them for contamination. Physical sampling; lab analysis is the only AI-assisted part. | 12% Needs a person |
| Listen to operating engines to detect and diagnose malfunctions, such as sticking or burned valves. Listening to running engines is sensory and hands-on judgement. | 12% Needs a person |
| Locate and mark dimensions and reference lines on defective or replacement parts, using templates, scribes, compasses, and steel rules. Marking reference lines with scribes and steel rules is physical. | 12% Needs a person |
| Disassemble engines and inspect parts, such as turbine blades or cylinders, for corrosion, wear, warping, cracks, and leaks, using precision measuring instruments, x-rays, and magnetic inspection equipment. Added a period; the wording had no banned terms. | 12% Needs a person |
| Inspect airframes for wear or other defects. Airframe defect inspection requires physical access and judgement. | 10% Needs a person |
| Communicate with other workers to coordinate fitting and alignment of heavy parts, or to facilitate processing of repair parts. Coordinating heavy part fitting is in-person physical teamwork. | 10% Needs a person |
| Cure bonded structures, using portable or stationary curing equipment. Operating curing equipment is hands-on; process settings are routine. | 10% Needs a person |
| Measure parts for wear, using precision instruments. Precision measurement of parts is physical work. | 8% Needs a person |
| Fabricate defective sections or parts, using metal fabricating machines, saws, brakes, shears, and grinders. Fabricating parts with shears, brakes and grinders is hands-on. | 8% Needs a person |
| Prepare and paint aircraft surfaces. Surface preparation and painting are physical tasks. | 8% Needs a person |
| Maintain, repair, and rebuild aircraft structures, functional components, and parts, such as wings and fuselage, rigging, hydraulic units, oxygen systems, fuel systems, electrical systems, gaskets, or seals. Rebuilding structures and systems requires skilled physical labor. | 6% Needs a person |
| Service and maintain aircraft and related apparatus by performing activities such as flushing crankcases, cleaning screens, and or moving parts. Flushing, cleaning and moving parts is manual work. | 5% Needs a person |
| Assemble and install electrical, plumbing, mechanical, hydraulic, and structural components and accessories, using hand or power tools. Installing components with tools is hands-on physical work. | 5% Needs a person |
| Measure the tension of control cables. Cable tension measurement is a hands-on tool task. | 5% Needs a person |
| Clean, refuel, and change oil in line service aircraft. Refueling and oil changes on aircraft are physical tasks. | 5% Needs a person |
| Clean engines, sediment bulk and screens, and carburetors, adjusting carburetor float levels. Cleaning engines and adjusting carburetor floats is manual work. | 5% Needs a person |
| Install and align repaired or replacement parts for subsequent riveting or welding, using clamps and wrenches. Aligning and clamping parts for riveting or welding is physical. | 5% Needs a person |
| Clean, strip, prime, and sand structural surfaces and materials to prepare them for bonding. Stripping, priming and sanding surfaces is manual physical work. | 5% Needs a person |
| Replace or repair worn, defective, or damaged components, using hand tools, gauges, and testing equipment. Hands-on replacement and repair with hand tools. | 4% Needs a person |
| Reassemble engines following repair or inspection and reinstall engines in aircraft. Reassembling and reinstalling engines is physical and hands-on. | 4% Needs a person |
| Remove or cut out defective parts or drill holes to gain access to internal defects or damage, using drills and punches. Drilling and cutting out defective parts is physical work. | 4% Needs a person |
| Trim and shape replacement body sections to specified sizes and fits and secure sections in place, using adhesives, hand tools, and power tools. Trimming and fitting body sections with power tools is physical. | 4% Needs a person |
| Remove or install aircraft engines, using hoists or forklift trucks. Physically lifting and moving engines with hoists or forklifts. | 3% Needs a person |
| Examine engines through specially designed openings while working from ladders or scaffolds, or use hoists or lifts to remove the entire engine from an aircraft. Working from ladders and lifting entire engines is physical. | 3% Needs a person |
| Accompany aircraft on flights to make in-flight adjustments and corrections. In-flight adjustments require being aboard the aircraft. | 3% Needs a person |
| Spread plastic film over areas to be repaired to prevent damage to surrounding areas. Physically covering areas with plastic film on the aircraft. | 3% Needs a person |
| Remove, inspect, repair, and install in-flight refueling stores and external fuel tanks. Removing and installing fuel tanks is physical work on aircraft. | 3% Needs a person |
How aircraft mechanics compare
All occupations (923)
Installation, maintenance and repair (50)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $79,870 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 138,090 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +5.4% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Hold the FAA Airframe and Powerplant certificate
- Sign off AI-drafted repair logs in Maintenance record software
- Interpret ignition analyzer and compression checker readings
- Tear down assemblies using Disassembler software
- Replace worn components with hand tools and gauges
- Track parts requisitions in SAP software
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about aircraft mechanics and AI
Will AI replace aircraft mechanics?
Partly. About 2 in 10 of an aircraft mechanic's working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly parts inventory and requisitions plus repair logbook entries. Engine removal, hands-on component repair and final airworthiness sign-off stay with people because they need a licensed person physically at the aircraft.
Which aircraft mechanic tasks is AI taking over?
Parts inventory and requisitions score 75 on exposure, since stock counts and purchase orders are routine digital tasks that AI can fill from system records. Logbook entries score 70, because they are structured text drafted from work data. Manual lookups score 60, since AI can search and summarize service bulletins faster than a person paging through them.
Which aircraft mechanic tasks stay human?
Removing and installing aircraft engines with hoists scores 3 on exposure, because lifting a powerplant is physical work no software performs. Replacing worn components with hand tools and gauges scores 4, since hands on the part decide the fit. Spreading plastic film over repair areas scores 3 for the same reason.
How can aircraft mechanics stay valuable?
Hold the FAA Airframe and Powerplant certificate and check every AI-drafted logbook entry before sign-off. Use Disassembler software to plan and record disassembly of engine assemblies, and compare service bulletins against what the engine actually shows. Track parts requisitions in SAP software so shortages get caught before a repair stalls.
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