An overview of trends in aircraft maintenance program development : past, present, and future

The purpose of this paper is to describe the trends in aircraft maintenance program development during the last 50 years, including the reasons for the aircraft industry to change its view of maintenance. The major milestones and fundamental reasons for such development are also discussed and illustrated in relation to a flow diagram, which shows the logical and chronological order of the trends. Finally, the paper describes some possibilities and challenges as regards applying Information & Communication Technology (ICT) within the emerging approach of e-Maintenance in order to enhance the surveillance of aircraft maintenance program performance.Godkänd; 2007; 20071008 (peter_s