I find it almost incomprehensible that any Engineer (with the exception of a certain shift manager) given the task of carrying out/embodying a mandatory service bulletin would knowingly, deliberately lie & certify that the s/b had been action in full compliance when clearly it had not . However I would not be at all suprised that by, from my own experience that accurate recording of completed tasks is anywhere near foolproof.
Having been issued from our planning Dept the latest revision of an s/b , mod ( EOC ) etc. I have occasionally found that on inspection the requirements had already been previously met on another check.
Whether this is simply down to a typing error by a clerk in the Airworthiness Records Dept in the 'Back of beyond' or a failure by the certifying Engineer carrying the task to record the action taken, I couldn’t say. And why do we always get requests to do physical checks of pt#/ser# for ETOPS critical parts already fitted to a/c that have seen several years service & were purchased new from the manufacturer?
Perhaps the manufacturers supplied inventory of installed parts or the component change recording systems used during scheduled & unscheduled maintenance can't be relied upon hence the need to double check.
Another common problem encountered is the unnecessary duplication of tasks called up on a check. It’s normally left up to the LAE to highlight this to the planner so the duplicated job cards can be cancelled or cross referred . Unfortunately these duplicated cards can be missed & some jobs eg. inspections , oil servicing & panel refit clearances maybe repeated inadvertently by the oncoming shift therefore wasting even more time & resources .The Planner hits the ‘print’ button & all the job cards spew out but it's deemed to be all too much effort to sort out at the planning stage so it’s left up to the Engineers.
As far as what the media says they will always use whatever means necessary to boost sales & movie films are no exception . One such example was Bruce Willis in Die Hard II where he jams a 747 spoiler panel with his jacket & opens a conveniently mounted fuel jettison handle in the pylon whilst the a/c taxis under power ( Mmm.... now which s/b covers that particular mod I wonder?)always makes me cringe. OK its only fiction but as movies cover such a wide audience these days I can’t help but wonder just how influential they are to the general puplic’s including journalists & senior airline executives view of how an aircraft or aircraft systems operate by what is portrayed to be factual .
[This message has been edited by Ali Crom (edited 15 April 2001).]