Maintenance Practices, Ground Handling and Airworthiness Awareness
Maintenance control
In the NZ system, Part 43 sets general maintenance requirements and Part 66 covers licensing. The exam tests whether you can work to published data and release an aircraft correctly. Maintenance must follow the manufacturer's manual, approved data and the operator's procedures. Records must identify the task, date, person and release. Airworthiness directives are mandatory; service bulletins are usually recommended unless made mandatory. A certificate of release to service is issued only after required work and inspections are complete. The MEL allows defined deferrals with conditions; it is not a tool to clear unrelated defects.
Ground handling and safety
Before jacking, check weight and balance, jack points and load limits. Towing needs a trained driver, wing walkers and shear-pin protection. Fuel sampling drains water and sediment; allow settling, then sample until clear. Mooring, control locks, pitot covers and engine blanks protect the aircraft. Human factors - fatigue, pressure, distraction - cause maintenance error; use checklists and independent inspection where required.
Worked example
An aircraft has a cracked exhaust stack. The manual gives a reject limit; the crack exceeds it. A repair scheme is available from the manufacturer. You raise a defect, obtain approved data, fit the repair, inspect, record the work and issue the release. You do not 'monitor' a beyond-limit crack or defer it under the MEL, because the MEL does not override a structural or exhaust limit.
Traps
Do not sign for work you did not perform or inspect; do not use unapproved data; do not confuse an MEL deferral with a repair; and do not skip fuel sampling because the aircraft was hangared.