Safety
Torqued: Overcoming obstacles to effective communications
Last month I started a discussion about what I have come to recognize as a serious disconnect between pilots and mechanics, each of whom performs critical

Last month I started a discussion about what I have come to recognize as a serious disconnect between pilots and mechanics, each of whom performs critical tasks necessary to prepare an aircraft for safe flight. For lack of a better term, I call this phenomenon negative culture. Although the phenomenon exists in every industry, in few industries does it carry consequences as severe as those in aviation.

The FARs require the pilot-in-command to write all mechanical irregularities that occur during flight in the maintenance log of the airplane at the end of that flight. Once a pilot makes an entry in the logbook, maintenance personnel must take some action in response to the discrepancies recorded and must note this response in the airplane logbook. The FARs specify exactly what information maintenance crews are required to record and in how much detail.

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