Solutions · Aviation
ATLAS scans a 737-class narrowbody in 18-25 minutes at 98% accuracy. 99.5% critical-area coverage replaces the 30-40% blind spots that manual sampling-based inspection leaves behind.
The problem
The Super Cycle 2025-2027 — three curves converging at the same time.
Mechanic workforce retiring out: 40,000 mechanic shortage projected in North America by 2028. Fleet age climbing: average 13.4 years, OEM backlog exceeds 14,000 aircraft. Military readiness in freefall: CV-22 Osprey at 30.45% mission-capable vs. 75% target.
Manual inspection covers only 60-70% of an aircraft's surface through sampling, takes 6+ hours per check, and costs $1,200-$1,800 per event. There is no human-labor fix at this scale. The only way out is autonomous inspection.
The solution
ATLAS replaces fragmented manual inspection with a single autonomous platform. Six fused sensor modalities — hyperspectral, LWIR thermal, LiDAR, laser profilometry, radar NDT, and polarimetric RGB — scan the entire aircraft exterior in 18-25 minutes. ATLAS Connect produces FAA-aligned records and prioritised repair orders within minutes of scan completion.
The platform integrates into existing MRO workflows: gate checks between flights, overnight line maintenance, and heavy-maintenance events. Data flows directly to fleet-management systems. No new infrastructure required. 90-day engagement complete — 98.3% accuracy, 23-min inspection on a 737-800.
Key benefits
Four metrics that change the unit economics of aircraft inspection.
18-25 min vs. 6+ hrs
Complete narrowbody scan in under 25 minutes. Reduce gate time, accelerate turnaround, keep aircraft revenue-generating.
0.5 FTE vs. 3-4 FTE
Half an operator replaces a 3-4 mechanic team. Address the 40K-mechanic shortage without lowering standards.
$163-$325 vs. $1,200-$1,800
Cut per-inspection cost by up to 86%. Scale inspection frequency without scaling headcount or budget.
vs. 60-70% manual sampling
Every panel, every seam, every fastener line. ATLAS eliminates the coverage gaps manual sampling cannot close — at <3% false-positive rate.
Use cases
From between-flight rapid scans to fleet-wide longitudinal monitoring — same platform, mission-specific configuration.
Deploy ATLAS during ground time for a fast multi-spectral sweep. Detect hail damage, lightning strike signatures, and surface anomalies in minutes — before the next departure, not after the next incident.
During scheduled heavy maintenance, ATLAS delivers a complete 99.5% surface scan with all six sensor modalities. Identify corrosion, fatigue cracking, composite delamination, and subsurface degradation — producing a comprehensive digital record of airframe condition.
When an aircraft is grounded unexpectedly, every hour costs money. ATLAS mobile deployment gets an inspection platform to your AOG location fast. Full multi-spectral assessment in 18-25 minutes instead of waiting hours for a qualified NDT team.
Regular ATLAS scans build a longitudinal dataset for every aircraft in your fleet. ATLAS Connect trends structural health over time, identifies aircraft requiring attention before scheduled checks, and optimizes maintenance planning across the entire fleet.
ROI
At 100 inspections per year, ATLAS saves ~$88,000 to $164,000 annually per aircraft — while raising critical-area coverage from 60-70% to 99.5% and freeing 3+ mechanic FTE per scan.
| Manual Inspection | ATLAS | Delta vs. manual | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detection accuracy | 60-70% | 98% | +40 to +57 pts |
| Inspection time (737-class) | 6+ hrs | 18-25 min (Delta 23 min) | −85% |
| Labor required | 3-4 FTE | 0.5 FTE | −87.5% |
| Cost per inspection | $1,200-$1,800 | $163-$325 | −73 to −86% |
| Critical-area coverage | 60-70% | 99.5% | +42 to +66% |
| False-positive rate | 15-25% | <3% | −80 to −93% |
| Records / FAA legal standing | Paper or manual entry | Digital, manuals-integrated, audit-ready | — |
| Annual cost (100 inspections) | $120K-$180K | $16K-$32K | −$88K to −$164K |
Worked example · single major carrier
371
$1.3B
$65M
Same 371-aircraft fleet, same inspection cadence (30+ inspections per aircraft per year), ATLAS replaces 3-4 mechanics × 6+ hours per scan with 0.5 FTE × 18-25 minutes. Heavy-maintenance C-checks alone consume 6,000–20,000 man-hours per airframe; D-checks consume 2,000–50,000+ over 1-8+ months. ATLAS doesn't replace mechanics — it gives them their fleet back.
When inspection fails · historical precedent
A single fastener defect that manual inspection missed resulted in complete fleet grounding and $35B in airline, OEM, and supplier losses. Single missed defects can ground entire fleets.
An unapproved maintenance procedure bypassing standard inspection led to 10% capacity loss during peak operations and an estimated $13 billion expected impact. Inspection is not operational overhead — it is mission-critical infrastructure.
Next step
Schedule a demonstration at your facility. We will run a live scan and show you exactly what your current inspection process is missing.
arachnid systems