AI exposure: Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians
Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul aircraft engines and assemblies, such as hydraulic and pneumatic systems.
Reading this score
computedAt 14.6% of weighted task load, Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians sits at the 23th percentile, below the point where a job's centre of gravity has moved. 75.2% of what this role does is untouched, meaning current systems cannot produce that work at all, whatever the commercial incentive.
What holds the line here is embodiment. Across this occupation's 38 tasks it averages 2.61 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work has to happen in physical space. A language model cannot move matter. Until the robotics to do this work is both good enough and cheap enough to deploy widely, capability in software does not reach it.
The most exposed thing this job does is Maintain repair logs, documenting all preventive and corrective aircraft maintenance, at 73.3%. The least is Prepare and paint aircraft surfaces, at 0.0%. A gap of 73.3% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.
Within installation, maintenance and repair occupations, this one is more exposed than most. The median across the 50 roles in the group is 12.8%, and only 20 of them score higher than this. Occupational families are not uniform, and the spread inside them is often wider than the gap between them.
What would move this score. Of 38 tasks, 8 are currently banded exposed, 1 assisted and 29 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take robotics cheap and reliable enough to deploy at scale, not a better language model. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
Where the score comes from
judgedEvery task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.
| Dimension | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 0.93 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 2.61 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.40 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 0.80 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.18 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.30 | 0-3 |
Task by task
38 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maintain repair logs, documenting all preventive and corrective aircraft maintenance. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 4.35 | exposed |
| Inventory and requisition or order supplies, parts, materials, and equipment. | 52.5% | 22.5% | 25.0% | 3.70 | exposed |
| Read and interpret pilots' descriptions of problems to diagnose causes. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 3.98 | exposed |
| Determine repair limits for engine hot section parts. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 3.91 | exposed |
| Read and interpret maintenance manuals, service bulletins, and other specifications to determine the feasibility and method of repairing or replacing malfunctioning or damaged components. | 39.6% | 22.9% | 37.5% | 4.45 | exposed |
| Listen to operating engines to detect and diagnose malfunctions, such as sticking or burned valves. | 26.7% | 23.3% | 50.0% | 3.79 | exposed |
| Communicate with other workers to coordinate fitting and alignment of heavy parts, or to facilitate processing of repair parts. | 26.7% | 23.3% | 50.0% | 3.73 | exposed |
| Modify aircraft structures, space vehicles, systems, or components, following drawings, schematics, charts, engineering orders, and technical publications. | 26.7% | 23.3% | 50.0% | 3.63 | exposed |
| Accompany aircraft on flights to make in-flight adjustments and corrections. | 23.3% | 26.7% | 50.0% | 3.57 | assisted |
| Locate and mark dimensions and reference lines on defective or replacement parts, using templates, scribes, compasses, and steel rules. | 16.7% | 8.3% | 75.0% | 3.41 | untouched |
| Cure bonded structures, using portable or stationary curing equipment. | 16.7% | 8.3% | 75.0% | 3.06 | untouched |
| Test operation of engines and other systems, using test equipment, such as ignition analyzers, compression checkers, distributor timers, or ammeters. | 15.0% | 10.0% | 75.0% | 4.11 | untouched |
| Obtain fuel and oil samples and check them for contamination. | 13.3% | 11.7% | 75.0% | 3.88 | untouched |
| Examine and inspect aircraft components, including landing gear, hydraulic systems, and deicers to locate cracks, breaks, leaks, or other problems. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 4.30 | untouched |
| Conduct routine and special inspections as required by regulations. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 4.28 | untouched |
| Inspect airframes for wear or other defects. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 4.23 | untouched |
| Check for corrosion, distortion, and invisible cracks in the fuselage, wings, and tail, using x-ray and magnetic inspection equipment. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 4.21 | untouched |
| Measure parts for wear, using precision instruments. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 4.19 | untouched |
| Inspect completed work to certify that maintenance meets standards and that aircraft are ready for operation. | 10.0% | 15.0% | 75.0% | 4.48 | untouched |
| Measure the tension of control cables. | 10.0% | 15.0% | 75.0% | 3.99 | untouched |
| 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. | 5.8% | 6.7% | 87.5% | 3.87 | untouched |
| Remove, inspect, repair, and install in-flight refueling stores and external fuel tanks. | 5.0% | 3.3% | 91.7% | 3.61 | untouched |
| Replace or repair worn, defective, or damaged components, using hand tools, gauges, and testing equipment. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.23 | untouched |
| Remove or install aircraft engines, using hoists or forklift trucks. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.14 | untouched |
| Service and maintain aircraft and related apparatus by performing activities such as flushing crankcases, cleaning screens, and or moving parts. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.13 | untouched |
| Assemble and install electrical, plumbing, mechanical, hydraulic, and structural components and accessories, using hand or power tools. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.11 | untouched |
| Reassemble engines following repair or inspection and reinstall engines in aircraft. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.06 | untouched |
| 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. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.04 | untouched |
| Remove or cut out defective parts or drill holes to gain access to internal defects or damage, using drills and punches. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.74 | untouched |
| Clean, refuel, and change oil in line service aircraft. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.69 | untouched |
| Clean engines, sediment bulk and screens, and carburetors, adjusting carburetor float levels. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.61 | untouched |
| Install and align repaired or replacement parts for subsequent riveting or welding, using clamps and wrenches. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.57 | untouched |
| Spread plastic film over areas to be repaired to prevent damage to surrounding areas. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.40 | untouched |
| Fabricate defective sections or parts, using metal fabricating machines, saws, brakes, shears, and grinders. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.33 | untouched |
| Clean, strip, prime, and sand structural surfaces and materials to prepare them for bonding. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.11 | untouched |
| 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. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.62 | untouched |
| Trim and shape replacement body sections to specified sizes and fits and secure sections in place, using adhesives, hand tools, and power tools. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.07 | untouched |
| Prepare and paint aircraft surfaces. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 2.95 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.
Occupations either side of this one
The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.
Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.
What this means in practice
Most of this work is not reachable by current systems, so the immediate pressure is on the administrative edges of the role rather than its core: the scheduling, the reporting, the written records. That is where time is recovered.