Aircraft Maintenance and Weathering a Pandemic

While the pandemic did not cause personnel shortages and fleet changes, it rapidly accelerated and exacerbated existing industry issues.

Richard Scarbrough

Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 06:51 PM ET

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Dave Beauchamp, former director of maintenance at Atlanta Northside Aviation. [Courtesy: Richard Scarbrough]

Key Takeaways:

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly accelerated a pre-existing shortage of qualified aviation mechanics, as many workers left the industry.
Despite commercial aviation's decline during the pandemic, the general and corporate aviation sectors experienced growth, leading to new aircraft fleet expansion and modernization.
The necessity brought by the pandemic spurred the adoption of innovative technologies like drones for inspections and new blended learning approaches for technical training.
The industry is addressing the challenge of an aging mechanic workforce through mentorship programs designed to facilitate knowledge transfer between generations.

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In January 2020, I was at the Anaheim Convention Center in California, attending the Helicopter Association International Heli-Expo. There was a spring in my step as I bounded down the jetway, my gleaming silver Lucas roller bag leading the way. It was the first business trip of the year, which is always exciting. The industry was awakening from its holiday slumber. Management rolled out new quotas and strategic plans, and everyone was hitting the road hopeful for fame and glory.

Oh, what blissful ignorance we had. Little did I know, my beloved industry was about to embark on a wild ride. A few short weeks later, everything came to a grinding halt because of COVID-19, and life as we know it changed forever. What happened next is a story of uncertainty, tenacity, and innovative thinking.