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 Savvy
Owner Notebook:
Clueless Aircraft Owners
To become a pilot, mechanic, flight
instructor, air traffic controller, flight engineer, navigator,
dispatcher or parachute rigger, you must first undergo training and
testing and obtain an FAA airman certificate. To become an aircraft
owner, however, all you need is a checkbook. Perhaps that needs to
change.
by Mike Busch (mike.busch@savvyaviator.com)
 I've
been flying for more than 40 years, and for most of that time
roughly 99.44% of my flying has been under instrument flight rules.
The standing joke among my pilot-friends is that I file IFR to go to
the bathroom, and I must confess that's not too far from the truth.
I love flying IFR. I think what I like most about it is that
instrument flying is a collaborative effort between pilots a
controllers ... a team sport, if you will. The IFR system works
remarkably well because most of the team members -- instrument-rated
pilots and air traffic controllers -- are highly qualified, well
trained, proficient, current, and generally know what they're doing.
 Once
in a while, an less-than-competent pilot or controller winds up in
the mix. When that happens, the system can fall apart quickly. I've
witnessed plenty of "stupid pilot tricks" in my time, and a small
handful of "stupid controller tricks" as well. Some of those
memories remain quite vivid. Years ago, a Los Angeles area approach
controller came terrifyingly close to vectoring me into a commuter
airliner -- two more seconds and there would have been blood, guts
and aluminum splattered over Beverly Hills. I filed a near-midair
collision report, and after an investigation the FAA decertified the
controller.
But even when pilots or controllers screw up, teamwork often saves the
day. Controllers often alert pilots to deviations before anything
really bad happens ("Three five charlie, say your altitude"), and
pilots sometimes catch controller errors as well ("Approach, did you
intend to vector three five charlie across the localizer?"). One of
the reasons I like flying IFR is that I appreciate having an extra
pair of eyes looking over my shoulder and making sure that I don't
screw up.
Because teamwork depends so heavily on the competence of the team members
(pilots and controllers), the FAA has established extensive regulations intended
to assure their competence. Both pilots and controllers are required to receive
extensive training, to pass knowledge exams and practical tests, to earn airman
certificates, and to meet ongoing recency-of-experience and recurrent training
requirements.
As a result, pilot deviations and controller operational errors are remarkably
rare. The system works well because instrument pilots and air traffic controllers are competent and
work together effectively and efficiently as a team.
Aircraft maintenance is a team sport, too
 Over
the past 15 years or so, I've been shifting my aviation focus from flying to
maintenance. Like instrument flying, aircraft maintenance is also a team sport
involving close collaboration between aircraft owners and A&P mechanics. When a
competent owner teams up with a competent mechanic, the outcome is almost always
excellent: a safe, well-maintained aircraft achieved with minimum expense and
downtime.
Unfortunately, owner/mechanic teamwork breaks down far too frequently. I've
often written about such breakdowns in past issues of this newsletter; see:
Why do these breakdowns occur? Predictably, they usually involve lack of
competence by one of the team members, the owner or the mechanic, or sometimes
by both.
How competent are mechanics?
In my experience, most mechanics are reasonably competent -- in large measure
because the FAA has established extensive regulations intended to make sure that
they are. To earn an A&P ticket, a person must either graduate from an
FAA-approved school or document the equivalent of 30 months (4,800 hours) of
aircraft maintenance experience. He then must take and pass three separate
knowledge exams (general, airframe, powerplant) plus a very extensive oral and
practical test by a Designated Mechanic Examiner that is usually a full-day
ordeal.
Trust me, it's not easy. I found it much tougher to earn my A&P than any of my
pilot or flight instructor certificates and ratings. Not to mention that an ATP
requires only 1,500 hours of experience, while an A&P requires 4,800 hours and
an IA nearly 8,000 hours.
Once certificated, mechanics must meet specific recency-of-experience
requirements (much like pilots do) in order to continue swinging wrenches on
aircraft. Even then, an A&P is not permitted to perform an annual inspection or
to inspect and approve a major repair or major alteration unless he's earned an
Inspection Authorization (IA), the mechanic's equivalent to the ATP. To become
an IA, a person must first have held an A&P certificate for at least three
years, and been actively engaged in full-time aircraft maintenance for at least
two years. He then must take and pass the IA knowledge exam.
 With
all these FAA-mandated requirements, you'd think that mechanics would be as
competent at what they do as, say, air traffic controllers or airline transport
pilots are at what they do.
Unfortunately, there are some holes in the system of mechanic certification.
One such "hole" is that there is no concept of "type ratings" for the A&P
certificate. My A&P ticket theoretically entitles me to swing wrenches on
anything that flies, from a J-3 Cub to a Gulfstream V to a Bell Jet Ranger to a
B-29 or P-51. That's ridiculous. I'm clearly not competent to perform
maintenance on most of those aircraft.
In the absence of such type ratings, owners need to be very careful about which
A&P mechanics they allow to touch their aircraft. If you own a Cessna P210 or
Beech Duke, it's not enough to find a certificated A&P mechanic; you need to
find one who has lots of experience working on P210s or Dukes.
Another "hole": Mechanics are not required to take any recurrent training
or evaluation once they've earned their A&P certificate. None! There's nothing
analogous to the biennial flight review or the instrument proficiency check for
mechanics. No requirement that they stay up to date on the latest service
bulletins and maintenance alerts. No requirement that someone else assess their
competence from time to time, or check their work.
If an A&P is performing a 100-hour inspection on your TCM engine, how can you be
sure that he knows that in 2003, TCM massively changed their guidance on how to
perform compression tests and how to determine whether or not a cylinder needs
to be replaced? You can't unless you ask and he shows you his copy of TCM
Service Bulletin SB03-3.
No, just because someone has an A&P certificate (or even an IA) doesn't mean
he's necessarily competent to inspect or maintain your aircraft. It's the
owner's job to check out the mechanic's credentials and make sure he knows what
he's doing before turning over the aircraft to his care.
How competent are aircraft owners?
Aye, there's the rub. In its infinite wisdom, the FAA burdens aircraft owners
with weighty responsibilities -- including the primary responsibility for
maintaining their aircraft in airworthy condition and complying with
airworthiness directives -- but does not require that owners receive any
training, take any tests, earn any certificates, or demonstrate their competence
to anyone. So it's not surprising that the competence of aircraft owners varies
all over the map.
Some owners have done their homework and really know their stuff. They are
exquisitely knowledgeable about the systems and common failure points of their
aircraft. They understand the regulations that govern aircraft maintenance and
the responsibilities of aircraft owners under those rules. They're up to the
task of making the important big-ticket maintenance decisions (major overhauls,
cylinder replacement, paint and interior, structural repairs) that owners must
face from time to time. They know how to get the most bang for their maintenance
buck, how to manage the maintenance process, and how to resolve owner/mechanic
disputes.
 Other owners don't have a clue. They lack the experience and training to carry
out their responsibilities as aircraft owners. When something goes wrong with
their aircraft, they lack the systems knowledge and skills to troubleshoot the
problem and squawk it properly. When confronted by the need to make a big-ticket
maintenance decision, they're at a loss what to do. All they know about aircraft
maintenance is how to turn over the keys and how to pay the bill.
Regrettably, a lot more owners fall into the second category than the first. If
they're really lucky, these naive owners will hook up with a seasoned and reputable
mechanic who knows enough about their aircraft make and model to keep them out
of trouble in spite of their ignorance and naiveté. If they're not quite
so lucky, they'll wind up way over their head when something serious goes wrong
with their aircraft.
What's the solution?
Given the awesome responsibilities that owners/operators have under the
regulations, I find it astonishing that the FAA does not require a person to
undergo training, take an exam, and earn an FAA owner/operator certificate
before being allowed to own and operate an aircraft. At the same time, my
libertarian politics makes me hesitant to suggest that the FAA should impose any
more regulatory requirements than it already does. There's a lot of truth to the
expression, "be careful what you wish for."
Perhaps insurance companies could require that aircraft owners receive some sort
of ownership training before they can qualify for aircraft insurance. Or maybe
at least they could offer lower premiums to owners who have undergone such
training. Perhaps there are other ways to raise the competence of aircraft
owners.
Effective and efficient aircraft maintenance requires owner/mechanic teamwork,
and teamwork is possible only when all team members are knowledgeable and
competent. A&P mechanics as a group are relatively competent (although there's
certainly much room for improvement), while owners as a group are far less so.
Owners who make the effort to upgrade their ownership skills will find
themselves richly rewarded for their trouble.
| Do you have a maintenance-related
"war story" that you'd like to share with fellow
aircraft owners? If you do, I'd
love to hear from you. The most interesting stories
I receive each month will be rewarded with highly prized Savvy
Aviator coffee mugs, so please include your
shipping address. Also be sure to let me know if you'd like
me to "change the names to protect the innocent"
when sharing your story. |
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