Precision aircraft parts fitter hopes to keep flying high

For Hu Shuangqian, a skilled senior aircraft parts fitter for nearly four decades, a minor oversight in his work can have drastic consequences.

The 58-year-old heads a team working on computerized controls at Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing, a subsidiary of Commercial Aircraft Corp of China. Hu won the National Labor Medal in 2009 and was named a national model worker in 2015.

Although most aeronautical engineering work is now performed by computer-controlled machines, some parts of Hu's job still haven't been programmed and rely instead on his delicate touch.