Rant: The time a pilot lectured me on a bad connector

I was working a panel swap at a hangar in Denver last month, and this one pilot kept hovering over my shoulder. He pointed at an old Cannon plug and said 'that pin looks off by a hair, you gonna fix it or just leave it?' I checked it and he was right, it had a slight bend. Ever have a non-technical person spot something you missed and make you feel like an idiot?

3 comments

3 Comments

hollyl253d ago

Wait, that 727 in Scottsdale was actually a plane that crashed back in '19?

ray3563d ago

That last Cannon plug I had to fix was on a 727 in Scottsdale back in '19. I get why you felt like an idiot, but honestly a pilot catching a bent pin is just part of the deal. They're up there flying with that stuff every day, they look at those connectors different than we do. You probably miss a few things here and there, and so does he when he's doing his preflight. It's not about who's more technical, it's about another set of eyes keeping the metal straight.

wood.faith3d ago

Nah, I used to think it was all on me to catch EVERYTHING, but you're right. That other set of eyes is just part of the safety chain, not a test of who's better at their job.