Aircraft Assembly Inspector

Aviophobia is the fear of flying, or rather, the fear that while flying, the airplane you’re on will malfunction and crash. Aircraft Assembly Inspectors help alleviate this fear. That’s because they inspect airplanes and helicopters for safety before they’re shipped off for use.

As an Aircraft Assembly Inspector, you work in assembly plants, keeping an eye on the work of Aircraft Assemblers. You can oversee the production of military planes, private jets, airliners, helicopters, or gliders. Any machine that flies needs an Aircraft Assembly Inspector to make sure it was built correctly.

You watch the different parts of an aircraft as they’re put together, and make sure the assembly is done correctly. You check that parts are properly installed (no upside-down propellers), and that nothing extra is added (no tools left behind). For the most part, you test by sight. You know an aircraft pretty well so you can tell, just by looking, if there’s something missing or if there’s a crack that shouldn’t be there. A lot of your time is spent looking over blueprints and manuals, at least until you get good at spotting mistakes.

You run tests on electrical systems, rivets, blades, and even paint, looking for imperfections such as cracks, dents, or dings. Additionally, you keep an eye on the humidity and temperature in the plant during production. This ensures that everything is working within optimum levels. You’re a stickler for detail because even the smallest thing can cause the biggest problem during flight. All the information you gather goes into detailed reports that you give to your superiors. It’s your duty to keep them posted on things like potential problems and production timelines.