Citation

Munro PA, Kanki BG, Jordan K. Int. J. Aviat. Psychol. 2008; 18(1): 86-103.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10508410701749563

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

When mechanical discrepancies occur on an aircraft, effective communication between pilots and mechanics can facilitate identification of the problem. A survey of pilots and mechanics was conducted to determine how often they were able to discuss discrepancies directly and to identify factors that influenced the detail they provided about discrepancies in the aircraft logbook. Logistical factors such as short turn times between flights and crew schedules appeared to present barriers to face-to-face meetings between pilots and mechanics. Guidelines for pilot logbook entries appeared to be less clearly defined than for mechanic entries. Pilots reported receiving significantly less training on writing logbook entries and spent significantly less time making individual entries than mechanics. Mechanics indicated greater concern about the Federal Aviation Administration reading their entries than pilots. Mechanics indicated they had little opportunity to follow up with pilots to clarify a logbook entry once pilots departed the aircraft.