An exploratory study on the significance and challenges of aircraft base maintenance engineering in the aviation industry

An aircraft is considered one of the most sophisticated combinations of complex technologies and is known as the safest and fastest mode of transportation. The aviation industry reached such a safety level by implementing continuous innovation and improvement in flying technologies embedded during aircraft production. Along with production, the aircraft manufacturer's team also establishes aircraft maintenance requirements to keep the aircraft airworthy during its life span. Soon after the aircraft's delivery to its owner or operator worldwide, the owners'/operators' responsibility is to maintain the aircraft and ensure airworthiness by performing the maintenance work at predefined intervals. Such maintenance activities are defined in two categories and performed by aircraft engineers under the Part-145 framework and aircraft maintenance organizational setup. The first category is line maintenance, which is comparatively light regarding the nature of work, and the second is base maintenance, which takes all the major work needed on the aircraft. This research paper will discuss the significance and challenges in aircraft base maintenance engineering within the aviation industry.