Originally Posted by
Two's in
There have been a spate of pitot static failures on airliners that were placed in COVID storage and returned to service, only to find the blanks were not fitted properly, or the insects got in anyway. That should be all the evidence needed to demonstrate that the discipline and governance around fitting blanks and covers needs a rigorous review by the industry. If you needed steps or a ladder to fit the blanks, why not leave it there for the person to remove the blanks is one obvious question. Adding paperwork to what should be a standardized safety process is not going to help if it's not a maintenance action.
Aircraft do not have a set of dedicated steps at hand. One engineer may be covering several aircraft and need the steps on all of them.
Fitting pitot covers IS a maintenance action, hence the requirement for a log book entry.