Aircraft mechanic screening questions: A&P certificate, recent experience, aircraft types and paperwork

Aircraft mechanic screening questions should start with the FAA certificate: which ratings (airframe, powerplant or both), whether the candidate meets the recent experience rule, and whether they hold an Inspection Authorization if the job needs one. Then match their hands-on experience to the client's aircraft and operation, because a mechanic who has spent five years on piston singles at a flight school is not ready to work a Part 121 heavy check without training, and a line mechanic for a regional airline may never have done an annual inspection. Finally, check the things that stop a start date: drug testing, airport badging, shift and travel.

This page covers A&P mechanics and maintenance technicians at repair stations, air carriers, charter operators, corporate flight departments and general aviation shops. For trucks and heavy equipment, use diesel mechanic screening questions; for inspection-only roles in manufacturing, quality inspector screening questions.

What the FAA certificate requires

• Eligibility. Under § 65.71, an applicant must be at least 18, able to read, write, speak and understand English (with an exception for some applicants employed outside the United States by a U.S. air carrier, whose certificate is endorsed for use outside the U.S. only), and pass all the tests within 24 months.
• Experience or school. Under § 65.77, the applicant shows a document from a certificated aviation maintenance technician school (Part 147), or documented practical experience of at least 18 months for one rating, or 30 months working on both airframes and powerplants concurrently.
• Privileges and limits. Under § 65.81, a mechanic may maintain and alter what they are rated for, excluding major repairs and major alterations of propellers and any repair or alteration of instruments. They may not supervise or approve for return to service work they have not satisfactorily performed before, unless they show the ability to the FAA or do it under the direct supervision of an appropriately rated, experienced mechanic or repairman, and they must understand the current manufacturer's instructions and manuals for the job.
• Recent experience. Under § 65.83, the mechanic may not exercise the certificate unless, within the preceding 24 months, the FAA found them able to do the work, or they spent at least six months working as a mechanic, supervising mechanics, or supervising maintenance in an executive capacity.
• Return to service. Under §§ 65.85 and 65.87, an airframe or powerplant rated mechanic may approve for return to service work they performed, supervised or inspected, other than major repairs and major alterations, and may perform 100-hour inspections.
• Inspection Authorization. Under § 65.91, an IA applicant must have held both ratings for at least three years, have been actively engaged in maintaining aircraft for the two years before applying, and pass a written test, among other conditions. Under § 65.95, the IA can approve return to service after major repairs and alterations done to approved data (except aircraft on a Part 121 continuous airworthiness program) and perform annual inspections.

Verify the certificate and ratings on the FAA's Airmen Inquiry search, which shows releasable certificate information. Ask the candidate to have the physical certificate available for the employer.

Knockout questions

Technical questions with strong answers and red flags

1. "Tell me about the last logbook or maintenance record entry you made for a return to service."
   • Strong answer: describes the work, references the data used (manual chapter, service bulletin or airworthiness directive), the date, their signature and certificate number, and who else signed for inspection items.
   • Red flags: "The lead does the paperwork."
2. "How do you know you are working from the current revision of the manual?"
   • Strong answer: checks the revision status in the electronic library or the controlled copy, never works from a personal printout, and asks when something does not match the aircraft.
   • Red flags: "I know that aircraft by heart."
3. "How do you tell a major repair from a minor repair?"
   • Strong answer: uses the regulatory definitions and the manual, knows that major repairs need approved data and specific approval for return to service, and asks an IA or engineering when in doubt.
   • Red flags: "If it's small, it's minor."
4. "You find a crack that is not in the manual's damage limits. What do you do?"
   • Strong answer: stops, documents, reports to the lead or inspector, and the repair goes through engineering or the manufacturer for approved data.
   • Red flags: stop-drills it and moves on.
5. "Describe your tool control and foreign object habits."
   • Strong answer: shadow boards or tool checks before closing panels, accounting for every tool and fastener at shift end, calibrated torque wrenches checked for due dates.
   • Red flags: no routine described.
6. "Walk me through a shift handover on an open task."
   • Strong answer: written turnover on the task card, what is done and what is not, verbal handover in person, nothing left signed that was not done.
   • Red flags: verbal only.

Match the experience to the operation

Ask also about specific skills the client listed: borescope inspection, composite repair, sheet metal, engine runs and taxi authorization, avionics troubleshooting, and any type or manufacturer training certificates with dates.

Drug testing and airport badging

Under 14 CFR 120.105, aircraft maintenance and preventive maintenance are safety-sensitive functions under the FAA's testing program, which covers full-time, part-time, temporary and contract workers performing them for a covered employer, and § 120.109 requires a verified negative pre-employment drug test before the person performs the function. Candidates who need unescorted access to an airport's secured area go through a fingerprint-based criminal history records check under 49 CFR 1542.209, which lists disqualifying offenses within the 10 years before the application. Tell candidates about both steps early, run them after an offer as the employer's process requires, and see drug testing laws in hiring and the FCRA background check process.

How mechanic experience gets overstated

• Helper or school time counted as certificated time. Ask for the date the certificate was issued.
• "Signed off" work they performed but someone else approved. Ask who signed the return to service.
• Type experience from a training course only. Ask how many hours of hands-on work on that type.
• "Inspector" titles without inspection authority. Ask whether they held an IA or were designated an inspector under the repair station or carrier's program.

Scoring and submittal

Mechanic: [name]
Certificate: [A, P, A&P], issued [year]; IA: [yes, expires / no]
Recent experience: [employer], [dates]
Types and engines (last 24 months): [list]
Work type: [line, heavy check, overhaul, annuals]
Skills: [sheet metal, composites, avionics, borescope, engine run]
Available for drug test and badging: [yes]; shifts/travel: [accepted]