My trainer's sign off habit was hiding a real problem for 4 years
Kept signing off squawk sheets right after a ramp check because 'if it flew in, it's good' until a captain in Tulsa asked me to actually pull the EICAS history and I saw 3 flagged items I'd been rubber stamping. How do you all handle the pressure when the gate agent is standing there tapping their watch?
Flew in, so it’s good is how planes end up on the news. That captain in Tulsa did you a favor. Half the flagged items on EICAS are things that won’t bite you until flight 3 or 4, like a bleed valve that only acts up at altitude or a pack that runs hot on the ground. The gate agent’s watch is not your problem. Their schedule pressure is not a sign the plane is fine. Sign what’s actually written, no matter who is tapping.