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| Lee Bo-hyun, a mechanic for Asiana Airlines, works on an engine of an Airbus A350 in the airline's second maintenance hangar at Incheon International Airport. Courtesy of Asiana Airlines |
By Kim Hyun-bin
When picturing an airline employee, most think of a pilot or flight attendants dressed in fashionable uniforms. But people might not be aware that there are scores of personnel working endlessly behind the scenes to ensure the safety of thousands of daily passengers.
Among them is Lee Bo-hyun, an avionics maintenance mechanic working for Korea's second-largest carrier Asiana Airlines.
Lee, 30, joined the company in April 2016 and is currently part of the heavy maintenance team in charge of the airline's most modern aircraft, the Airbus A350.
"Planes need to undergo heavy maintenance periodically and are parked in the hangar for a week to a month for detailed inspections," Lee said. "There are scores of sub-teams within the heavy maintenance team, but I am in charge of avionics checking on communications, navigation and electronic devices as well as wiring tasks and cockpit operations."
Currently, there are around 1,500 mechanics employed by Asiana, but among them, less than 50 are female.
Despite the male dominance, Lee says there are some advantages of being a female mechanic.
"There are times an aircraft needs maintenance in narrow areas, and that's when being a woman has its advantages. And women are usually better at focusing on small details than men and this also helps us in the line of work. But there are times we need to pick up heavy materials that require strength, in which our male co-workers have the advantage," she said.
Lee believes, the best part of her job is being able to work in a cooperative team, which makes the working atmosphere less dull.
"The major trouble in the profession is the weather as we have to work in the hangar all year round: during summer it's too hot and in winter, too cold. But rain or shine, the jets need to take off, so our work needs to continue," Lee said.
The most important traits for mechanics are responsibility and honesty as they are in charge of the safety of hundreds of passengers onboard each flight, she said.
"We are in charge of the safety of 200 to 500 passengers on each flight, so we need to take responsibility for our actions. When we make a mistake, mechanics should never try to conceal it to avoid punishment," Lee said. "This is why we double-check with others on our team to make sure we have done our job correctly. Instead of becoming conceited about our skills, we take responsibility and let others check our work several times."
Lee wants to pursue her career as a mechanic for the time being, but hopes one day to become an instructor who trains and inspires aspiring mechanics to follow in her footsteps.
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