Are there any restrictions imposed by any aviation-authorities that would prevent a color-blind person from becoming an aircraft technician?
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2$\begingroup$ Could you indicate for which country you ask? $\endgroup$– U_flowCommented Jan 10, 2023 at 9:17
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3$\begingroup$ @U_flow OP tagged both FAA and EASA so it seems like this is a general question. $\endgroup$– Aditya SharmaCommented Jan 11, 2023 at 1:15
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3 Answers
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It will depend on maintenance tasks.
The FAQ page for Part-66 licences has this information:
Regulation (EU) 1321/2014 does not require any medical examination before applying for a Part-66 licence.
In the past some medical criteria were proposed in JAR-66, but these were removed in order to avoid conflicts with national rules. JAR 66.A.50 had requirements on:
- use of alcohol at work,
- effects of medicines,
- physical conditions, vision, ability to see colours,
- mental conditions.
However, the same pages also states:
Common sense recommends the certifying staff not to exercise the privileges of their certification authorisation if they know or suspect that their physical or mental condition renders them unfit to exercise such privileges (impact to the safe maintenance operations). ...
Please find an agreement with your company in order to list the maintenance tasks that you are allowed to carry out without jeopardising the aircraft safety.
Note: The same reasoning as explained above applies for any medical condition.
While it may be true that having a poor color vision or even color blindness may not prohibit some of the maintenance tasks, there for sure are many in which color vision is a necessity, such as electrical work. In many jurisdictions one cannot even become a household electirician with color blindness, as wires are color coded.
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7$\begingroup$ Another example where this would be problematic is when dealing with lights on the aircraft. Installing the wrong wingtip light covers because you can't tell the difference between red and green would be problematic, for example. $\endgroup$– reirabCommented Jan 10, 2023 at 16:54
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$\begingroup$ In general, aircraft wiring is not color coded. Just lots and lots of white wires. Unless it is test equipment, then orange. $\endgroup$ Commented Jan 11, 2023 at 22:42
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Yes absolutely, you can become an aircraft technician if you are colorblind. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) even has an FAQ for this in which someone asked "I am a colour-blind. Does this prevent me from getting a Part-66 licence or exercising my licence privileges?". The answer states that
Regulation (EU) 1321/2014 does not require any medical examination before applying for a Part-66 licence.
Note that you need the EASA Part-66 licence in order to work on "Maintenance on aircraft structure, power plant and mechanical and electrical systems" etc.
Therefore you do not need to see color to become an aircraft technician.
The same applies for the FAA in the USA.
If you google around a bit, you will see that color-blind aircraft technicians share their story on relevant forums.
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Depends on the country, but most do not require a medical certificate to qualify for an aircraft maintenance certificate. Your sight would not be tested.
answered Jan 10, 2023 at 15:02
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1$\begingroup$ Passing a certification is not the only requirement to do a job. $\endgroup$ Commented Jan 11, 2023 at 13:10
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$\begingroup$ @user253751 That is not relevant to the question. Becoming an aircraft technician is one thing, getting a job that has vision requirements is another. That is an issue with the employer, not the country's aviation authority. $\endgroup$ Commented Jan 12, 2023 at 13:23