From WFAA-TV, Dallas
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Immigration no problem for aircraft mechanics

03:38 PM CDT on Thursday, June 11, 2009
By BYRON HARRIS and MARK SMITH / WFAA-TV

Video
June 11th, 2009
BYRON HARRIS REPORTS

Fixing an aircraft is not like fixing a Chevy. Aircraft mechanics don’t do their job with guesses, but instead do them with a repair manual open in front of them, mapping every step.

Manuals are written in English, the worldwide language of aviation.

News 8 has uncovered a pipeline of mechanics that are being funneled into the United States from foreign countries and may lack the necessary English skills to read and understand the manuals needed to make proper repairs.

Documents and interviews indicate one Texas repair firm, San Antonio Aerospace (SAA), now has more than 100 Mexican and Asian aircraft mechanics. SAA’s sprawling repair station in San Antonio is currently running two shifts a day doing contract work for both Delta Airlines and UPS, among others.

Some SAA repairmen say the Mexican workers lack the ability to even understand the content of company meetings, much less read manuals. Nonetheless, they say, SAA sent a manager to Mexico to actively recruit repairmen.

One certified American mechanic who spoke Spanish said he acted as an informal translator to help the Mexican workers once they arrived in San Antonio.

"I would be like the Pied Piper to them," he said. “They would follow me and ask what the meeting was about, 'What did the lead mechanic say?'â€