Safety Note

Flight Safety Bureau

N°08
Décembre.2021

AIRCRAFT’S TECHNICAL LOGBOOK

The aircraft’s technical logbook is a folder carried on each aircraft that contains
maintenance and other technical information for that specific aircraft. The tech log
provides an up to date and official record of the aircraft. Prior to each departure the
tech log is reviewed before being signed off as legally acceptable to the captain.

It is a system for recording defects and malfunctions discovered during the operation and
for recording details of all maintenance carried out on the particular aircraft whilst that
aircraft is operating between scheduled visits to the maintenance base facility.

In addition, it is used to record operating information’s relevant to flight safety and must
contain maintenance data that the operating crew and the relief crew need to know.

In fact, the Aircraft Technical Log System contains the Curriculum Vitae of the
aircraft. It is the legal mean for written communication between Flight Crew
and maintenance personnel.

The aircraft technical log system allows the Commander to ensure that the aircraft is
airworthy in accordance with MEL and CDL.

The flight safety bureau is concerned about the worrying fact that 25% of the
structural overloads only have been reported by flight crew, indicating that a large
number of pilots do not take seriously this extremely critical issue.

From the flight safety bureau perspective, there are reasons to believe that if structural
overloads observed during flight are not reported, other technical irregularities are not
reported as well, making it difficult to have a clear vision of the technical status of an
aircraft.

Furthermore, even if some issues are detectable by recorded data (DFDR), several days
are necessary to collect and analyze these data then eventually send a technical
inspection request. During this time the aircraft is still flying, and you may be on
board.

All irregularities and technical issues must be recorded even though they may be
regarded as items that are “always that way”. Flight crews must be aware that:

• The Commander is responsible for completing the ATL. However, he/she may
delegate this to the first officer.
• The Flight Crew will verify that the ATL is on board and that it contains a sufficient
number of pages for the scheduled flights.
• The Flight Crew will review the ATL for corrective action(s) taken on previous
flight irregularities, type of service performed and release when required. At this

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Flight Safety Bureau
time, any dispatched items mentioned on the ATL will be reviewed for information
and compliance with the Minimum Equipment List. If the requirements of the
Minimum Equipment List are not satisfied, the crew will request that the condition
is corrected.
• Defects will be recorded in the ATL. Verbal reporting to maintenance
personnel is unacceptable.
• One Pilot Report entry per system defect or event will be made. Each entry must
contain sufficient details to assist maintenance personnel in making the necessary
corrective action(s). The Commander must sign each Flight Crew entry.
The ATL should not be used only to report observed aircraft system malfunctions, it must
also be used to inform maintenance in case of potential damage or degradation due to
any limitation exceedance, in addition to an Air Safety Report.
During ground or flight operations, events may occur which require a maintenance
inspection after the flight. Use the following guidance to determine which events require
a maintenance inspection:

• Hard landing - specify if the landing was hard on the nose gear only, hard on the
main gear only or hard on both main and nose gear. Specify if the landing was a
hard bounced landing

Note: A bounced landing is defined as a landing where both main gears contact the
ground and then both main gears leave the ground prior to landing.
Note: A nose first landing is considered to be a hard nose gear landing.

• Overweight landing - if the overweight landing was not a hard landing the flight
crew should record that the landing was not a hard landing
• High drag/high side load event - one or more of the following conditions occurred:

❖ Airplane ran off the prepared surface

❖ Airplane landed short of prepared surface
❖ Two or more tires were blown during landing
❖ One or more landing gear hit an obstacle or were hit by an obstacle
❖ Airplane landed with a large crab or high bank angle resulting in abnormally
large side-to-side forces as the airplane aligns with the runway after
touchdown.

• Severe turbulence
• Over-speed flap/slat, MMO/VMO, landing gear, landing gear tires
• High-energy stop
• Lightning strike
• Extreme dust
• Tail strike
• Any event that makes the pilot feel a maintenance inspection could be needed. An
example of such an event is an overly aggressive pitch up during a TCAS event or
a Terrain Avoidance maneuver that could cause structural damage.

Note: If in doubt, the best course of action is to report it.

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