November/December 2023 - 27

F O R T H E R EC O R D
Maintenance Tracking-
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Maintenance tracking data is commonly used by business aircraft operators
to not only predict upcoming maintenance on the aircraft they operate, but
also as a first look verification of status on an aircraft. However, maintenance
tracking information has its limitations. Unfortunately, these limitations are
often ignored until such time that they really count. Regrettably for many aircraft
owners, by the time the truth of maintenance tracking's limitations are
ultimately revealed, it's often too late to adjust and avoid disaster.
Maintenance tracking is an important tool used
by business aviation to enhance management of the
aircraft we operate. As a forecasting tool, it assists
aircraft maintenance managers and directors in
predicting and budgeting upcoming maintenance
on an aircraft. As a record of the history of the aircraft's
maintenance, it's used for its insight into
what, when and why maintenance was accomplished
or parts were installed on the aircraft.
The Bad - As the saying goes " garbage in -
garbage out. " This, of course, absolutely applies
to maintenance tracking data. Maintenance
tracking information is only valuable if the data
has been entered into the system correctly. This
is one big reason the FAA has gone on record
stating that " maintenance tracking data does
not verify Airworthiness of an aircraft. " The only
thing that really counts in confirming an aircraft's
Airworthiness is the recorded FAR 43 maintenance
information found in an aircraft's logbook.
Any information gathered through maintenance
tracking must be authenticated by finding this
same information in the logbook. Otherwise, the
information is of no value.
The Ugly - E-log. Undoubtedly the most misunderstood
and misused component of maintenance
tracking that has ever existed. First developed by
the maintenance tracking companies decades ago
to validate maintenance tracking data entries with
images of the logbook entries to prove the data
correct; e-log has ballooned into what the aircraft
industry falsely believes is a backup for an
aircraft logbook. But, this is patently false. This
idea of sending individual electronic maintenance
entry copies to e-log to provide backups for the FAR
43 logbook documentation has been spawned by
both an industry too busy to do the real research
on what the FAA has to say about logbook backups,
and by omission of the truth by maintenance
tracking companies. Opportunely, maintenance
tracking companies are benefiting by this misunderstanding.
It is the aircraft owners who are
ultimately paying the price. When push comes
to shove and the aircraft owner requires an e-log
copy to stand-in as a legitimate logbook entry, it
is, unfortunately, only then that they find out that
it isn't capable. If you think that your maintenance
tracking company's e-log is affording you a backup
to your aircraft's logbook, then you are part of the
problem in our industry.
The Bottom Line - Maintenance tracking,
when used properly, is a valuable tool for managing
business aircraft. But, like any tool; it works
best when used in the way it was intended. And,
like most tools, it's usually awkward and ineffective
when used in a manner different from
its designed use. A contract with a maintenance
tracking company does not alleviate the responsibility
a maintenance director has to ensure everything
necessary to keep an aircraft Airworthy is
accomplished. Nor is it a panacea of remedies that
take the place of everything in business aircraft
that are not as easy for us to use; logbooks for
example. Simply put, if you're not actively managing
information that maintenance tracking
is supplying for your aircraft, or you are trying
to make the program do something it was not
designed to do in the first place, then you're not
utilizing a very important tool in your toolbox
properly. Taking what appears to be the easy path
with maintenance tracking could someday lead
straight to financial disaster for the owner of the
aircraft and at the same time put you at personal
risk.
www.AviationPros.com 27
By Larry Hinebaugh
Larry Hinebaugh
is the executive
director of the nonprofit
company
The Foundation for
Business Aircraft
Records Excellence. He
is a 40-year veteran of
the Business Aviation
Industry.
http://www.AviationPros.com
November/December 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November/December 2023
