The Road Trip – You walk in on Monday morning and your boss informs you of an engine problem on an airplane recently maintained by your shop. The customer was traveling over the weekend and got stranded just a few hours away.  After several phone calls and some verbal troubleshooting, you determine it will be necessary to travel to the airplane and do some maintenance.

Before you leave, consider the following:

• Do you have the training required to perform the maintenance needed?
• Are you qualified to run and taxi the aircraft if required? Some airports are a challenge even for pilots; are you up for it? If not, don’t be ashamed to ask for help! Remember SAFETY is the key — if you can’t do it, DON’T DO IT.
• Do you have the tools required to perform the needed maintenance?
• Do you have current FAA approved or accepted Technical Data?
• Look at your human factors checklist; don’t be your own worst enemy.

Perform the maintenance in a safe, professional manner, document the maintenance as required and return the aircraft to service only if you feel confident about the work that was done.  Remember — the same standards apply no matter where the work takes place.

Take the lessons you learn on this road trip and file for later use.