Aircraft maintenance checks

Military aircraft normally follow specific maintenance programmes which may, or may not, be similar to those of commercial and civil operators.

Airlines and other commercial operators of large, or turbine-powered, aircraft follow a continuous inspection program approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States,[1] or by other airworthiness authorities such as the Transport Canada Civil Aviation Directorate (TCCA), or the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

International approach (originated by the United States FAA) is to establish initial aircraft maintenance requirements for each aircraft type in a Maintenance Review Board Report (MRBR).

[4] The MRBR is an approved set of aircraft initial maintenance requirements as prescribed by the Appendix H to para.

Modern aircraft with MSG-3-derived maintenance programs employ usage parameters — such as flight hours, calendar time, or flight cycles — for each required maintenance task included in the MRBR aimed to avoid and/or timely correct certain failures of an aircraft systems and parts thereof.

It takes about 160-180 man-hours, depending on the aircraft, and is usually completed within 1–3 days at an airport hangar.

[7] The C check is performed approximately every 20–24 months, or a specific number of actual flight hours (FH), or as defined by the manufacturer.

[8] The 3C check may also be used as the opportunity for cabin upgrades, e.g. new seats, entertainment systems, carpeting.

This shortens the time the aircraft is out of service, by performing two distinct tasks simultaneously.

Such a check can generally take up to 50,000 man-hours, and 6 months to a year to complete depending on the number of technicians involved.