Two wrongs don’t make a right, but three lefts do. How often are we pushed into making decisions in a hurry? Whether the aircraft is late for departure or the air ambulance crew is in a hurry to get to a car accident. Something is broken (1st wrong) and as a mechanic it is your job to make sure it gets fixed properly. You may be tempted to stick a piece of chewing gum on a leak and call it good until they get back (2nd wrong). While it may seem right at the time, the proper procedure would be to replace the seal (1st left), test it (2nd left), and close out the paperwork (3rd left).
If you let the aircraft go in less than airworthy condition, imagine the pressure you will feel when all those families want to know what happened. Pressure is one of the human factor’s “Dirty Dozen.” Don’t fall victim to pressure.
To learn more about Maintenance Human Factors and the Dirty Dozen on the web go to hfskyway.faa.gov/hfskyway/index.aspx or contact your local FAASTeam Program Manager.
