Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians
In short: today's best AI models could do about 11% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about 12% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 88% of the time, stays with people.
Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul aircraft engines and assemblies, such as hydraulic and pneumatic systems.
138,090 people do this job in the US. $79,870 a year.
Reviewed on September 30, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on0 h
- A person checks AI's work4 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people36 h
Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 0 hours, 4 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 36 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Read manuals and bulletins for repairs (about 1 h, a person checks); Conduct regulatory inspections (under an hour, a person checks); Determine hot section repair limits (under an hour, a person checks).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 7%
- 5%
- 0%
- 0%
- 88%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
What handing it over would take, now
The 11% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 7%. Today's estimate: 11%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, no reportable share went to this job's tasks in May 2026; 0 of its 38 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.012% to 0.0065% (released February and March 2025); none to 0.0034% (August 2025 to February 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.012% | 511 of 708 | 2 of 38 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.0065% | 551 of 703 | 1 of 38 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | none | n/a | 0 of 38 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 38 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.0034% | 601 of 677 | 1 of 38 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 38 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 38 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 76% of this job's working time as physical work. For 23% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 23% in a purpose-built cell. 0.23 of 3, the 419th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 24%
- No robot shown 54%
- In a purpose-built cell 23%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
87% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Repair and rebuild structures and systems, the hands-on work, 11%
- Conduct regulatory inspections, the hands-on work, 9%
- Replace or repair components, the hands-on work, 7%
- Install components and accessories, the hands-on work, 5%
- Check for cracks and corrosion, the hands-on work, 5%
- Modify structures to engineering orders, the hands-on work, 5%
What becomes checking the machine
11% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it.
- Read manuals and bulletins for repairs, severe if wrong, 3%
- Conduct regulatory inspections, a licensed person signs, 2%
- Determine hot section repair limits, a licensed person signs, 2%
- Keep maintenance logs, a licensed person signs, 1%
- Modify structures to engineering orders, a licensed person signs, 1%
- Inspect and certify completed work, a licensed person signs, 1%
What to learn
- Judgment where errors are severe. Some tasks are severe if wrong. Knowing when not to trust an output matters more there than speed.
- Signing off under your license. Some tasks need a licensed, certified or sworn person to do or sign them. The license, and the judgment it stands for, stays with the person.
- The hands-on craft. About 88% of the time is hands-on work, which no model here does; robots are rated separately on this page.
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself. The tasks under What becomes checking the machine, where a mistake costs something, stay a person's to check or sign: spotting what a draft gets wrong is a skill of its own.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 38 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conduct routine and special inspections as required by regulations.Inspections carried out and recorded.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 11% | 3.3 h50 min to 6.7 h | Hands-on 80%, systems 20% | 18%Desk part half by now |
| Maintain, repair, and rebuild aircraft structures, functional components, and parts, such as wings and fuselage, rigging, hydraulic units, oxygen systems, fuel systems, electrical systems, gaskets, or seals.Hands-on work on wings, fuselage, hydraulics and fuel systems.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 11% | 5 h1.7 h to 1.7 work days | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Replace or repair worn, defective, or damaged components, using hand tools, gauges, and testing equipment.Hands-on repair with tools and gauges.Done more than weekly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Modify aircraft structures, space vehicles, systems, or components, following drawings, schematics, charts, engineering orders, and technical publications.Modifications made by hand to the drawings and orders.Done yearly or less by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 3.3 work days | Hands-on 80%, documents 20% | 9%Desk part half by Dec 2026 |
| Assemble and install electrical, plumbing, mechanical, hydraulic, and structural components and accessories, using hand or power tools.Electrical, hydraulic and structural parts installed.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Check for corrosion, distortion, and invisible cracks in the fuselage, wings, and tail, using x-ray and magnetic inspection equipment.X-ray and magnetic inspection of the structure.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, TecScan automated ultrasonic/eddy-current scanning systems (TSIS-3000, gantry, Scan3D) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 3.3 h50 min to 6.7 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Fabricate defective sections or parts, using metal fabricating machines, saws, brakes, shears, and grinders.Parts made on saws, brakes, shears and grinders.Done yearly or less by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, TRUMPF TruBend Center Series 7000 (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 5 h1.7 h to 1.6 work days | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Inspect airframes for wear or other defects.Airframes checked for wear and defects.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Donecle Iris GVI / Iris 3D automated inspection drone (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 1.7 h38 min to 4.2 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Examine and inspect aircraft components, including landing gear, hydraulic systems, and deicers to locate cracks, breaks, leaks, or other problems.Landing gear, hydraulics and deicers examined.Done more than weekly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Inspect completed work to certify that maintenance meets standards and that aircraft are ready for operation.Checking the work and signing it off.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Hands-on 70%, systems 30% | 30%Desk part half by now |
| Trim and shape replacement body sections to specified sizes and fits and secure sections in place, using adhesives, hand tools, and power tools.Sections trimmed, shaped and secured.Done yearly or less by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Airbus Hangar 245 fuselage assembly robots (KUKA Titan + Alema end-effectors; MTM Robotics Flextrack) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 5 h1.7 h to 1 work day | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Read and interpret maintenance manuals, service bulletins, and other specifications to determine the feasibility and method of repairing or replacing malfunctioning or damaged components.Reading the manual to decide whether and how to repair.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Documents 100% | 100%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Avionics Technicians13% now, 15% by 2028
- Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers4% now, 4% by 2028
- Aircraft Service Attendants15% now, 15% by 2028
- Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians10% now, 21% by 2028
- Engine and Other Machine Assemblers9% now, 9% by 2028
- Electro-Mechanical and Mechatronics Technologists and Technicians20% now, 26% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 11% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 12% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (11% to 12% across the three paces the site shows). Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Read manuals and bulletins for repairs (100% of the task's time now); Conduct regulatory inspections (18% of the task's time now); and Determine hot section repair limits (69% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Repair and rebuild structures and systems; Replace or repair components; and Install components and accessories. Together such tasks are about 71% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are judgment where errors are severe; signing off under your license; and the hands-on craft. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 87% of the working time stays with people, 11% becomes checking a model's work and 1% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026, no reportable share went to this job's tasks. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 0%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 76% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 23% of the working time. Its index is 0.23 of 3. One example: TecScan automated ultrasonic/eddy-current scanning systems (TSIS-3000, gantry, Scan3D) for "check for cracks and corrosion". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 38 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on September 30, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
This job in your state or metro area
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A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.
Your own version of this job
The page above is the occupation. Your job is your title and what you actually do: give both, and they are read against these tasks in your browser, nothing sent anywhere. The headline is free: how much of your working time is within reach now and by the end of 2028, and how many of the tasks your description names.
The full personal report is $19, to print or save as a PDF: every task with when it comes within reach, which ones your description names, the parts of your description the task list does not cover, what stays with you, what becomes checking the machine and what to learn.