"Greg Esres" wrote in message
...
I'm curious as to the legal status of the squawk sheets for airplanes
at flight schools or FBOs. There has been some discussion as to who
is "legal" to sign off on a return to service after a renter has
written a squawk. Some mechanics say instructors can do so.

My suspicion is that squawk sheets have no legal standing at all, and
any pilot can choose to fly a squawked airplane if he believes it
legal and safe to fly.

Anyone have information regarding this?


When I was working as an A&P for a flight school, that school gained Part
141 certification. Our squawk book was one item the FAA examined. They
made us change from using a three-ring binder, where anyone could remove a
page with squawks, to a record that would show if an item had been removed.
I can't tell you if this is something peculiar to the Ft Lauderdale FSDO,
Part 141 schools, or a matter of bureaucrat's preference.

The FAA wanted us to have all customer/student write-ups entered in some
sort of official record rather than the customary scrap of paper thrown at
the A&P. Once the squawk was made our FAA guy wanted some sort of
evaluation by company employee noted. For example a CFI or I should note in
the record if the squawk couldn't be duplicated, was due to customer
misunderstanding or incorrect operation, or if item was scheduled for
maintenance and any limitations to be observed. This seems more like a Part
141 or sacrifice to the FSDO idol than regulatory requirement.

--
Scott