Undocumented Aircraft Repairs
Hanger Rash
Hanger Rash is a common undocumented damage. Which can easily lead to an undocumented repair. Let’s say a lineman was re-positioning aircraft to get ready for the next day’s departures when he accidentally clips a position light against the hanger door. He realizes this and sees that it pulled the light out from the wings fiberglass mounting surface just slightly. He, who is mechanically inclined but not authorized to do https://www.eheatcool.com/services/cooling/air-conditioning-services/repair/
a repair, gets his tool box and removes the wingtip and institutes a substandard and illegal repair to prevent anyone from realizing that any damage occurred. Now he believes he has done the right thing, after all he has saved his company from the time and embarrassment associated with dealing with this problem and the customer can fly his plane the next morning. This is obviously a rare occurrence but none the less it happens all too often. This is an example where undocumented damage becomes an undocumented repair.
Bird Strike
Bird Strikes are even less common but do pose a real issue with undocumented damage. A pilot is on short final when a small flock of birds is startled and fly into his path. He receives a strike against his wing’s leading edge and it dents slightly. This pilot who is an A&P looks at the damage and decides that it is negligible and does not report the damage to the owner. This bird strike was later seen by the owner and he asked the mechanic about it. The mechanic told him the story and said it was a negligible dent and wouldn’t affect the flight characteristics of the aircraft. And besides “you don’t want a damage history”. Well this is entirely all too common. A mechanic advises his client to not document or repair negligible damage due to its effect on aircraft value. This is simply not good advice. At the end of the day the aircraft must conform to its original type design and any negligible damage is not part of the type design. I know what you’re thinking and the answer is “It is a very narrow line to walk but use your judgment on what should be repaired an