Where have the Alerts gone?

For those of you who have been in the aviation maintenance industry for more than two years, you might recall a monthly publication called Aviation Maintenance Alerts (Advisory Circular 43-16A), Alerts for short, that was at one time circulated to all mechanics with an inspection authorization (IA).

Alerts was actually mailed to all aircraft maintenance inspectors and anyone that requested it. Then, in the early 2000s, due to a lack of funding, the publication was delivered digitally only until 2012, when it was discontinued altogether.

The idea behind the Alerts was to compile and share information about potential problems with certain products/equipment so that mechanics in the field could keep an eye out for similar failures, and thereby increase safety. The Alerts publication was more or less a summary of what was submitted during any given month for malfunction and defect (M&D) reports.

In a broader sense, the M&D reporting system was (and still is) a way to feed potential safety issues into the service difficulty reporting system, which would then drive airworthiness directives so that safety issues would be properly addressed.

Some areas of maintenance, such as air carriers and repair stations, are “required” to submit M&D reports under the service difficulty program, but there are no specific guidelines on how often and when to submit them. Unless their local inspector provides specific instructions, reports are few and far between and often overlooked.

On the general aviation side of the business, it’s even worse! Since M&D reports are of an advisory nature, it’s not required that they be filled out. Few if any mechanics actually turn these in on a regular basis. The number of submissions has declined dramatically since the Alerts program was discontinued.

An FAA inspector to whom I spoke recently says that mechanics in his area at one time were pleased to turn reports in because they would eventually end up in the Alerts publication and shared with the rest of the maintenance community. The inspector says that the program worked, and he would regularly take malfunctions and defects that were reported to him in and elevate them to service difficulty reports — some of them even becoming airworthiness directives.

The current situation with the service difficulty reporting program is troubling at best. Few are submitting M&D reports and  it’s questionable what is done with them when submitted. The bottom line is that you can collect all the information you want — but if we don’t do anything with it, isn’t it a waste of time?

Do you miss the alerts bulletins? Do you submit M&D reports on a regular basis? What do you think of the service difficulty and M&D reporting program? I look forward to your responses.