Don’t Bother Me with the Facts!
AKA…Confirmation Bias An Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) hears their radio crackle. Maintenance Control wants them to evaluate damage to an aileron the crew of a departing aircraft detected. After reporting the extent of the damage to Maintenance Control they conclude the aileron damage is allowable, and the AMT defers it according to the company’s procedures. The aircraft departs on time. Later the AMT takes a second look at the structural repair manual, and learns the focus had only been on the allowable damage table. The team had not noticed the damage was, in fact, in a critical area that