AMT 4202 – Maintenance Planning & Control Light or Line Maintenance

• The Part 145 regulation defines line maintenance as

Aircraft Maintenance any maintenance tasks which can be performed
outside of a hangar (under open skies) except for
Aircraft maintenance is the performance of tasks required situations in which the weather deteriorates to such
to ensure the continuing airworthiness of an aircraft or conditions, that a hangar becomes mandatory.
aircraft part, including overhaul, inspection, replacement, • Some aircraft, the scope of line maintenance is
defect rectification, and the embodiment of modifications, specified in the MPD or MS (Maintenance Planning
compliance with airworthiness directives and repair. Document or Maintenance Schedule). Those
documents may either bluntly tell you that line
Continuing Airworthiness maintenance is for every check up to and including
Continuing Airworthiness management is the process by the 500 HR A-check.
which an aircraft is kept in a condition where it remains
airworthy throughout its life - or in other words i.e. a typical example of a legal definition which means
technically fit for flight. In the words of ICAO: precisely nothing. Technically, one could do any
maintenance task under the open sky assuming the weather
“All of the processes ensuring that, at any time in its life, is nice and warm and theres no wind. So to further
an aeroplane complies with the technical conditions fixed ellaborate ang mga kasama sa Line maintenance is the
to the issue of the Certificate of Airworthiness and is in a following
condition for safe operation"
Basically all checks and inspections under and below “A
Inspection methods and intervals, repair actions, checks” are considered tasks for Line Maintenance.
modifications and timescales are all part of Continuing
Airworthiness, as are feedback to design/production and This may include:
formal airworthiness review. • Troubleshooting
• Defect rectification
There are different ways for doing inspections and checks • Component replacement, up to and including engines
• Mechanical check: this operation is included in both and propellers, with use of external test equipment if
routine inspection and detailed inspection. It is required
ensuring that a part or the part’s condition complies • Scheduled maintenance and/or checks including
with the requirements by taking measurements or visual inspections that will detect obvious failures but
using an inspection instrument do not require extensive in-depth inspection. It may
• Visual Inspection: careful visual examination of the also include internal structure, systems and
component powerplant items which are visible through quick
• Capacity Test: Testing of the battery in the approved opening access panels/doors.
battery shop as per the batter manufacturer and • Minor repairs and modifications
checking its capacity to hold charge
• Overhaul: Means stripping a unit and restoring it to Additional: Minor repairs and modifications which do not
its original design performance level after require extensive disassembly and can be accomplished by
replacing/reworking parts to a given standard simple means.
• Leakage test: To apply a controlled pressure to the
Pitot Static system to check for leaks and proper The Scheduled Maintenance Tasks Included in Line
operation of the Pitot static system instruments. Maintenance
• Calibration Check/ Bench check: A procedure to
ascertain correct indication against known standards
to determine the accuracy of a unit

Aircraft Maintenance - Line, Base and Shop

In most general terms, aircraft maintenance can be divided
into three categories (as defined by law and by common
sense, if you think about it):
• Line maintenance
• Base maintenance (or heavy maintenance or hangar
maintenance) Base or Heavy Maintenance
• Shop Maintenance (or component maintenance) An MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) company
will have to have large facilities and specialised equipment
and staff to undertake base maintenance, and many
operators contract-out this function. The different
activities may include:
Of course, all this work needs to be done in a hangar and Units for Maintenance Intervals
requires quite a bit of planning and a significant dose of • Flight Hours (FH), for items that are in constant
cooperation between the airline and the MRO. operation e.g. Fuel Pumps, Electric Generators
• Flight Cycles (FC), for items operated once or twice
• C and D Checks (block checks see Maintenance per flight e.g. Landing gear, air starter, brakes, hull
Programme) which will check for deterioration of the pressurisations
airframe, engines and systems, e.g. corrosion, fatigue • Calendar Time (Cal), for items exposed whether
• Removal of defects – implementation of Service operated or not e.g. Fire Extinguishers, Corrosion to
Bulletins (SB) and Airworthiness Structure
• Directives (AD), although this can also be done • Operating hours, for items not operated every flight,
during Line maintenance. or otherwise independent of FH or FC e.g. APU
• Technology upgrade – fitting of Terrain Avoidance operation
and Warning System (TAWS), Airborne Collision
Avoidance System (ACAS) etc. Flight Hours - Everytime that an aircraft is operated with
• Cabin reconfiguration, painting etc. intention of flight. The total time from the moment an
aeroplane first moves for the purpose of taking off until the
Shop or Component Maintenance moment it finally comes to rest at the end of the flight
The third form of maintenance can be termed as Flight Cycle - A flight cycle is defined as the time period
“Workshop” or just Shop maintenance. This covers between a departure and the subsequent departure.
maintenance on components when removed from aircraft Calendar time - the period of elapsed time, using
e.g. engines, APU, seats. Sometimes this is carried out Coordinated Universal Time or local time that begins at
within the same organisation as the Base Maintenance, but midnight and ends 24 hours later at the next midnight.
sometimes special companies carry out this work Operating hours - Aircraft operating times refer to the
separately. duration and specific actions involved in the operation of
an aircraft. This includes various aspects such as taxiing,
Terms braking, controlling the attitude and direction of the
aircraft, and monitoring engine use and aircraft movement
Maintenance Intervals
• The intervals of maintenance are parameters set Workloads
within the Approved Maintenance Schedule (AMS),
which is in turn based on the Maintenance Planning The word “workloads” can also be substituted by the
Document (MPD). word “maintenance” as a term commonly used. ei.
• These will be set according to different criteria,
mostly depending on how well damage can be • Planned workloads= Planned Maintenance/
detected and failure predicted [CAA, 2017]: scheduled Maintenance
• Unplanned workloads = unplanned/unscheduled
Hard Time Maintenance
• A component which is labeled Hard Time simply
means the component has a defined life. It will be Pero ang WORKLOADS for example “Planned
usually counted in Aircraft Hours or Aircraft Cycles Workloads” is generally used and given per individual
(although may be calendar days). The limit will maintenance personnel. Using “MAINTENANCE” in for
normally be defined by a manufacturer (OEM) and at example “Planned Maintenance” is used as a general term
this limit a defined action will be required such as for scheduled tasks.
overhaul or bench testing
Maintenance Workload
On-Condition • When people discuss workload in aircraft
• The process of "on-condition" maintenance is applied maintenance they can be viewing the subject from
to items on which a determination of their continued two different perspectives: workload required,
airworthiness can be made by visual inspection, expected, planned for and experienced by the
measurements, tests or other means without maintenance organisation, or workload demanded
disassembly inspection or overhaul. The condition of of, and experienced by, individual maintenance
an item is monitored either continuously or at employees.
specified periods. • Both organisational and human factors impact on
each other and it is the responsibility of the
Condition Monitoring (CM) maintenance organisation to ensure that manpower
• is a critical component of predictive maintenance. It available is more than adequate to meet all
is the process by which one or more parameters of a necessary tasks.
machine are either periodically measured, or
continuously monitored, to identify significant
changes that usually are indicative of an impending
failure.
Planned Workload Planning for Regulatory Compliance
• All of the tasks mentioned above can be clearly
defined – what to do, when to do it, how often, Industry Steering Committee
how to do it, and what to do it with. These will be • The Industry Steering Committee (ISC) comprises
presented in the approved maintenance operators, manufacturers, and regulators who follow
programme and manual; these tasks define the the guidance outlined in Advisory Circular AC 121-
majority of the maintenance workload and can be 22A , based on use of ATA MSG 3 methodology to
“planned” for and “scheduled”. develop the scheduled maintenance program for a
given aircraft systems structure and engines which
Example: A - D checks, lahat ng nasa slide 10. Whenever results in the maintenance Review Board Report
a task is regulated by the authority counted na siya as (MRBR).
planned workload. • The MRBR is used as the source document for the
Maintenance Planning Document (MPD) which then
Unplanned Workload is the source document of Maintenance Task Cards
• Situations can arise in response to commercial given to Maintenance Personnel.
activities which will impact on the planned
workload, such as the temporary leasing-in of an
aircraft, or the need to switch aircraft types
between operations (routes/tasks). These
unplanned events can be for short intense periods,
or have much longer and deeper repercussions.

Lightning strikes, Fire, Bird strikes, Flood Damage, Heavy

Landing, Etc.

Fatigue and Shift Patterns

• Shift planning, rotating and restoring need to be
scientifically-based to maximise resources, and will
benefit from being integrated with a Fatigue Risk
Management System (FRMS). Consideration needs
to be given to: MSG-3 Compliance
• Time of shift start/finish • Maintenance Steering Group-3 (MSG-3) is a standard
• Length of shift for developing scheduled maintenance tasks and
• Rest periods and refreshment/nutrition breaks intervals that are acceptable to regulatory authorities,
during a shift operators, and manufacturers.
• Tour of duty (number of days/nights on shift) • The MSG-3 standard outlines the general
• Days off organization and decision processes for the efficient
• Days/time “on call/standby” scheduling of maintenance for an aircraft or power-
• Changes in shift pattern plant.

If walang FRMS MSG-3 Inspection Types

• Labour costs become a greater (perhaps the
greatest) cost for a maintenance organisation, and • Lubrication-Servicing (LU-SV)
• the human becomes a bigger source of error. – A group of maintenance tasks that involve
lubricating or servicing a part. These tasks are
designed to maintain the safety and reliability of
Aircraft Maintenance the aircraft.
• Operational-Visual Check (OP-VC)
Continuing Airworthiness – A visual check to observe a part and determine
1. Maintenance Checker – inspection of components whether the part is fulfilling its intended
2. Visual Inspection – Visual examination purpose.
3. Capacity Test – Check Capacity • Inspection-Functional Check
4. Overhaul – step by step procedure – A quantitative check to determine whether a part
5. Leakage Test – instrument reading is performing within specified limits.
6. Bench Check – limit testing • Restoration
– The work that is required to return a part to a
Line – it is any maintenance task that can be performed serviceable standard. For example, an engine
outside the hangar (A & B checker) part might require a thorough cleaning.
• Discard
Base – should be inside the hanger (C & D checker) – The removal of a part after it reaches a specified
- technology upgrader limit. For example, an engine part might be
discarded after 1000 flight hours.
 • General visual inspection (GVI)
– A visual examination of an interior area, exterior
area, installation, or assembly to detect obvious
damage, failure, or irregularity. The inspection
might require the use of stands, ladders, or
platforms to reach the area that is under
inspection.
• Detailed inspection (DET)
– An intensive examination of a specific part, The Task Number. Each task has a unique task number
installation, or assembly to detect damage, where the first six position forms an ATA (Air Transport
failure, or irregularity. The inspection typically Association of America) identification number to what
involves more lighting sources. Surface part of the aircraft is involved.
cleaning or elaborate access procedures might
also be required.
• Special detailed inspection (SDI)
– An intensive examination that involves the
extensive use of specialized inspection
techniques or equipment. Intricate cleaning,
substantial access, or disassembly procedures
might also be required.
• Maintenance significant item (MSI)
– A part whose failure might have serious
consequences for the safety and operation of the MPD above is a different kind of MPD from the previous,
aircraft. which is specific to Zonal tasks. ZONAL TASKS(ZL) are
• Structurally significant item (SSI) special instructions to do checks (often General Visual
– A detail, element, or assembly that contributes Inspection (GVI) for corrosion/deterioration/cracks) in
significantly to carrying flight, ground, pressure, different parts (Zones) of the aircraft.
or control loads. The failure of a structurally Often these tasks mean opening hatches or removing
significant part might affect the structural panels and insulation. It’s therefore important to group
integrity that is necessary for the safety of the them carefully with other task so as not to tear down areas
aircraft. of the aircraft unnecessarily.
• Access defined inspections
– Indicates whether significant removal or
displacement procedures are necessary to
complete the maintenance task. Knowing
whether access is required to complete a
maintenance task allows for more efficient
scheduling of maintenance.
• Corrosion prevention and control programs
(CPCP)
– A routine collection of maintenance tasks that
maintain the resistance of an aircraft to The ZONE where the task shall be performed. Each part
corrosion caused by age and chemical or of the aircraft has been given a Zone designation.
environmental interaction.

Maintenance Planning Document (MPD)

• Each operator builds its own maintenance plan for the
aircraft, in cooperation with its local Airworthiness
authority. The MPD is then a base input for the plan.

DESCRIPTION on what shall be done, what skill is

needed (EL= Electrical knowledge, AF=Airframe
knowledge), the type of action (MSG inspection types) and
what preparation and access is needed (the numbers are the
doors/panels that need to be opened/removed). BITE is
short for Built In Test Equipment, the system’s own test
facility.
The THRESHOLD/INTERVAL column describes the APPLICABILITY says if it’s applicable to FAA
scheduling for the maintenance action. Here, the lowest controlled aircraft or non-FAA jurisdiction aircraft and
Interval (I) is 500 Flight Hours (FH) or six months (MO); before/after which Airbus modification status (the
the highest is 18,000FH or 10 Years (YE). PRE/POST 23051) or Service Bulletin (27-1057) this task
is applicable.

SOURCE describes from where this task has come. CMR

stand for Certification Maintenance Requirement. MRB
stand for Maintenance Review Board. LUR identifies tasks
that add calendar limits to flight hours or cycles to make
sure the task is carried out even if the aircraft has low
utilization.

REFERENCE give links to the task in the Aircraft

Maintenance Manual and to the MRB report.

MEN says how many persons are need to do the task.

M/H stand for Man Hour to complete the task.