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Aircraft inspector vs quality inspector

The differences between aircraft inspectors and quality inspectors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an aircraft inspector has an average salary of $41,517, which is higher than the $33,197 average annual salary of a quality inspector.

The top three skills for an aircraft inspector include airframe, technical data and hand tools. The most important skills for a quality inspector are calipers, micrometers, and quality standards.

Aircraft inspector vs quality inspector overview

Aircraft InspectorQuality Inspector
Yearly salary$41,517$33,197
Hourly rate$19.96$15.96
Growth rate6%-3%
Number of jobs19,53370,978
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 44%High School Diploma, 37%
Average age4945
Years of experience--

What does an aircraft inspector do?

An aircraft inspector oversees all pre-flight inspections. They are part of the maintenance team in airports or in any aircraft hangar with regular flights. They are responsible for ensuring that all safety protocols are observed and making sure that all parts of the aircraft are in working order. An aircraft inspector must issue repair requests as needed, produce reports on inspected aircraft's status, and provide recommendations to further improve an aircraft's safety.

What does a quality inspector do?

A Quality Control Inspector is responsible for making sure that the manufactured products in a particular company or organization are up to standard and adheres to the rules and regulations. They continuously monitor production operations where they manually inspect products, accepting and rejecting those that do not meet the standard quality, and provide recommendations should it be necessary. Moreover, the Quality Control Inspectors coordinates with workers to ensure improvements, and with management to report the results.

Aircraft inspector vs quality inspector salary

Aircraft inspectors and quality inspectors have different pay scales, as shown below.

Aircraft InspectorQuality Inspector
Average salary$41,517$33,197
Salary rangeBetween $24,000 And $70,000Between $25,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City-Minneapolis, MN
Highest paying state-Washington
Best paying company-Nabors Industries
Best paying industry-Health Care

Differences between aircraft inspector and quality inspector education

There are a few differences between an aircraft inspector and a quality inspector in terms of educational background:

Aircraft InspectorQuality Inspector
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 44%High School Diploma, 37%
Most common majorAviationBusiness
Most common college--

Aircraft inspector vs quality inspector demographics

Here are the differences between aircraft inspectors' and quality inspectors' demographics:

Aircraft InspectorQuality Inspector
Average age4945
Gender ratioMale, 92.9% Female, 7.1%Male, 53.5% Female, 46.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 13.3% Unknown, 7.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.3% Asian, 6.3% White, 54.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 8.5% White, 57.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage11%4%

Differences between aircraft inspector and quality inspector duties and responsibilities

Aircraft inspector example responsibilities.

  • Manage the FOD prevention program to reduce costly repairs and increase the participation in FOD awareness and FOD walk downs.
  • Remove, install, repair, maintain & troubleshot landing gear, engine, environmental, hydraulic and airframe systems.
  • Ensure proper technical training and OJT records are kept up to date.
  • Inspect, repair, troubleshoot, service calls, rebuild, install, of overhead cranes up to 400 tons.
  • Perform operational checks and troubleshoot helicopter systems to isolate malfunctions.
  • Inspect airframe modifications and custom interior installations for BBJ's according customer requests.
  • Show more

Quality inspector example responsibilities.

  • Task involve use of calipers, optical comparators, volt/ohm meters and curve tracer.
  • Utilize measuring instruments like calipers, gauges, and micrometers to assure product conformance to customers specifications.
  • Recycle ESD products as required.
  • Maintain logs of products as required per AS9100.
  • Document and inspect for ESD requirements and for proper handling of MSD moisture sensitive devices.
  • Perform surface plate set-ups, utilizing gage blocks, angle blocks, sine plates and bars.
  • Show more

Aircraft inspector vs quality inspector skills

Common aircraft inspector skills
  • Airframe, 12%
  • Technical Data, 11%
  • Hand Tools, 8%
  • Aircraft Systems, 6%
  • Aircraft Maintenance, 6%
  • Maintenance Manuals, 5%
Common quality inspector skills
  • Calipers, 9%
  • Micrometers, 7%
  • Quality Standards, 6%
  • Quality Inspection, 6%
  • Inspection Results, 4%
  • CMM, 4%

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