I spent 16 years in the RAAF.
One way to annoy the ADGs during your annual SLR qual was to ask him which end of the "gun" you put the "bullets" in.
By all means use the term plane if you wish. You'd be wrong, but go ahead and prove your ignorance if you like.
I'm certain the term "tech crew" came from the touchy feely CRM world we now operate in. An attempt to raise the esteem of the bun chuckers by denigrating the pilots. Now look at the cabin crew mafia to realise what a mistake that was.