Jetfueldrinker,
You are correct that a manager's stamp was used to sign off the w/s replacement on the bac1-11 which was near catastrophic but to my knowledge he actually carried out the job too . Rather ironically the engineers were out on strike at that time & of course you guessed it , it fell upon the middle managers with cover to maintain the airline's engineering operation .
This only provides fuel to the arguement that people who are not hands on should have their authorisations removed. Our Quality department like to use the word 'recentcy' ( I think thats how you spell it ) when refering to indivuals maintaining their authorisations .I believe the requirement is that as long as you certify once within a 6 month period on the a/c type you hold you are considered to be current. How conveinient you just have to sign off a simple panel removal & you keep your cover without leaving the comfort of your office desk & chair!
No doubt even this reqiurement could be quickly waivered should 'operational needs' be quoted.