Paul-Louis Arslanian starts his career as civil aviation engineer at the French Directorate General for Civil Aviation and then at the "Inspection générale de l'aviation civile et de la météorologie (IGACEM)". He became head of the "Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile" in 1995. He is replaced by Jean-Paul Troadec in 2009.