Safety of aircraft, crew and passengers depends on these people

Mumbai: In today’s jet age air travel is no more a luxury but more of a necessity. Whether it’s a day conference in another city or a business trip across countries millions are using the air travel every day. It is to ensure the safety of these passengers that aircraft has to be in its peak condition to fly. So while you’re fastening your seat belt, seated in the isle, preparing for take off, Aircraft Maintenance Engineers or AMEs are at their busiest, checking and rechecking the plane to ensure utmost safety of the passengers travelling.
This is a profession with great responsibility on the technicians. It is on these personnel that the safety of the aircraft, crew and passengers is depending on.
To get there: Aspiring AMEs should bear in mind that unlike the other engineering careers, the road to this profession is not through acquiring a degree or a diploma. The training for the career involves completing the syllabus prescribed by the Director General for Civil Aviation (DGCA). Students should also check if the institute they are applying to is approved by the DGCA. To be thoroughly trained, students will require a lot of practical sessions so, apart from the certification by DGCA, students should also verify if the institute has their own aircraft, which kind of aircraft will they be exposed to, workshops and seminars, a check on faculty and instructors is also important.
The ideal candidates for this threeand half years duration course are those students who have scored an aggregate of 50% with a PCM (Physics, Chemistry and Maths) in the class XII Science exams.
On the job:An AME holds the responsibility of making sure that aircrafts are in the best condition to fly.They help to keep the aircraft in peak operating condition and perform regular maintenance checks and make repairs as and when required.
Some individuals may have the impression that this is a low paying job, dirty and greasy, not lucrative compared to a pilot career, or other negative concept. This is not true, in fact some of the aircraft maintenance engineering jobs pays as much as an airline captain’s salary. The bigger the responsibility the better the salary. And that makes this profession not only challenging but a lucrative one.
11/05/10 Gauri Rane/Daily News & Analysis