Aviation Inspectors

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Recommend changes in rules, policies, standards, and regulations, based on knowledge of operating conditions, aircraft improvements, and other factors.
• Conduct flight test programs to test equipment, instruments, and systems under a variety of conditions, using both manual and automatic controls.
• Analyze training programs and conduct oral and written examinations to ensure the competency of persons operating, installing, and repairing aircraft equipment.
• Start aircraft and observe gauges, meters, and other instruments to detect evidence of malfunctions.
• Examine landing gear, tires, and exteriors of fuselage, wings, and engines for evidence of damage or corrosion and the need for repairs.
• Start aircraft and observe gauges, meters, and other instruments to detect evidence of malfunctions.
• Examine maintenance records and flight logs to determine if service and maintenance checks and overhauls were performed at prescribed intervals.
• Investigate air accidents and complaints to determine causes.
• Recommend replacement, repair, or modification of aircraft equipment.
• Start aircraft and observe gauges, meters, and other instruments to detect evidence of malfunctions.
• Prepare and maintain detailed repair, inspection, investigation, and certification records and reports.
• Inspect work of aircraft mechanics performing maintenance, modification, or repair and overhaul of aircraft and aircraft mechanical systems to ensure adherence to standards and procedures.
• Approve or deny issuance of certificates of airworthiness.
• Inspect new, repaired, or modified aircraft to identify damage or defects and to assess airworthiness and conformance to standards, using checklists, hand tools, and test instruments.
• Examine aircraft access plates and doors for security.

Skills

• Operations Analysis
  • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
• Troubleshooting
  • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
• Operations Monitoring
  • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
• Social Perceptiveness
  • Understanding people's reactions.
• Management of Personnel Resources
  • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
• Active Listening
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
• Technology Design
  • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
• Repairing
  • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
• Instructing
  • Teaching people how to do something.
• Reading Comprehension
  • Reading work-related information.
• Writing
  • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
• Complex Problem Solving
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
• Negotiation
  • Bringing people together to solve differences.
• Quality Control Analysis
  • Testing how well a product or service works.
• Installation
  • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
• Learning Strategies
  • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
• Coordination
  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
• Monitoring
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
• Systems Analysis
  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
• Time Management
  • Managing your time and the time of other people.
• Systems Evaluation
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
• Mathematics
  • Using math to solve problems.
• Management of Material Resources
  • Managing equipment and materials.
• Science
  • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
• Equipment Selection
  • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
• Service Orientation
  • Looking for ways to help people.
• Operation and Control
  • Using equipment or systems.
• Persuasion
  • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
• Programming
  • Writing computer programs.
• Equipment Maintenance
  • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
• Management of Financial Resources
  • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
• Judgment and Decision Making
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
• Speaking
  • Talking to others.
• Active Learning
  • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
• Critical Thinking
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

Abilities

• Dynamic Flexibility
  • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Stamina
  • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
• Finger Dexterity
  • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
• Speed of Limb Movement
  • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
• Peripheral Vision
  • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
• Auditory Attention
  • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
• Hearing Sensitivity
  • Telling the difference between sounds.
• Gross Body Coordination
  • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
• Oral Comprehension
  • Listening and understanding what people say.
• Problem Sensitivity
  • Noticing when problems happen.
• Time Sharing
  • Doing two or more things at the same time.
• Rate Control
  • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
• Trunk Strength
  • Using your lower back and stomach.
• Speed of Closure
  • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
• Reaction Time
  • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
• Flexibility of Closure
  • Seeing hidden patterns.
• Number Facility
  • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
• Multilimb Coordination
  • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
• Visual Color Discrimination
  • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
• Speech Recognition
  • Recognizing spoken words.
• Dynamic Strength
  • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
• Written Comprehension
  • Reading and understanding what is written.
• Information Ordering
  • Ordering or arranging things.
• Perceptual Speed
  • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
• Deductive Reasoning
  • Using rules to solve problems.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
• Originality
  • Creating new and original ideas.
• Selective Attention
  • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
• Response Orientation
  • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
• Far Vision
  • Seeing details that are far away.
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
• Night Vision
  • Seeing at night or under low light.
• Speech Clarity
  • Speaking clearly.
• Extent Flexibility
  • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Memorization
  • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
• Spatial Orientation
  • Knowing where things are around you.
• Mathematical Reasoning
  • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
• Near Vision
  • Seeing details up close.
• Explosive Strength
  • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
• Written Expression
  • Communicating by writing.
• Sound Localization
  • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
• Depth Perception
  • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
• Glare Sensitivity
  • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
• Oral Expression
  • Communicating by speaking.
• Category Flexibility
  • Grouping things in different ways.
• Control Precision
  • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
• Static Strength
  • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
• Inductive Reasoning
  • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
• Manual Dexterity
  • Holding or moving items with your hands.
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
• Fluency of Ideas
  • Coming up with lots of ideas.
• Visualization
  • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

Knowledge

• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• Customer and Personal Service
  • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Psychology
  • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Geography
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• Communications and Media
  • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Education and Training
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Philosophy and Theology
  • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
• Sales and Marketing
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• Building and Construction
  • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Engineering and Technology
  • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Foreign Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
• Physics
  • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Administration and Management
  • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• Personnel and Human Resources
  • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Therapy and Counseling
  • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Medicine and Dentistry
  • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Chemistry
  • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• Public Safety and Security
  • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Administrative
  • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

Education

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

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Education and Training Opportunities

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Pay

Washington Annual Salary

97360/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

46.81/hr

Washington Employment Trends

Currently Employed

670

Yearly Projected Openings

70

Personality

Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines. They do well at jobs that need:

• Perseverance
• Stress Tolerance
• Cautiousness
• Integrity
• Attention to Detail
• Dependability

Tools

• Borescope inspection equipment
• Calipers
• Coordinate measuring machines CMM
• Desktop computers
• Dial indicator or dial gauge
• Eddy current examination equipment
• Feeler gauges
• Infrared imagers
• Inspection mirror
• Integrated maintenance information systems
• Interferometers
• Ladders
• Liquid penetrant examination equipment
• Magnetic particle examination equipment
• Magnifiers
• Micrometers
• Notebook computers
• Ohmmeters
• Oscilloscopes
• Personal computers
• Pick or place robots
• Portable data input terminals
• Pressure indicators
• Protractors
• Rulers
• Scaffolding
• Tachometers
• Thread counters or gauges
• Torque wrenches
• Ultrasonic examination equipment
• Voltage or current meters
• Wearable computing devices
• X ray radiography examination equipment

Technology

• Analytical or scientific software
• Computer aided design CAD software
• Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
• Data base user interface and query software
• Desktop publishing software
• Document management software
• Electronic mail software
• Enterprise resource planning ERP software
• Graphics or photo imaging software
• Industrial control software
• Office suite software
• Presentation software
• Spreadsheet software
• Web platform development software
• Word processing software