Snyggapa
As I've said previously - it maybe a simple job, but a lot of us Engineers, including maintenance planners have been stood down/furloughed/redundant/left the industry over the past 18 months. Factor in also that this job would normally be carried out as part of hangar check package which are usually scheduled on flying hours and with the reduced flying hours of aircraft the hangar checks have gotten further apart on a calendar basis, it shouldn't be hard to see that a lack of Engineers and manhours, and planned maintenance events have compounded this situation. During aircraft parking, the Aircraft Maintenance Program is also suspended and in most cases no maintenance activities are carried out apart from those required under the parking/storage requirements. I would think a lot of operators are now starting to plan this work out on the line on their active airframes, if they have enough Engineers available.
Just like pilots, we have to got through recurrent training packages, and due to the current extended stand down situation possible re-qualification. Some companies may also have to go through a recruitment process before they get enough Engineers on-line, so don't expect Engineering support to be fully back to normality for a while yet. I'm forever hopeful that eventually companies will see the value of maintenance and Engineering, rather than the cost.
Last edited by Tom Sawyer; 15th Jul 2021 at 01:34.
Reason: add detail.