ShawnD2112 wrote:

It would, I think, depend on how the squawk sheets are used. In the airline
business, each aircraft has a technical log. All the airworthiness of that
airplane is legally controlled through the tech log. All the data is backed
up with computer systems and databases, but at the end of the day, the CAA
will look to ensure the tech log is up to date if they're interested in
investigating the airworthiness status of an aircraft. The captain can make
entries of defects into the log, but only an engineer licensed by the CAA to
do so, can sign off the defect as repaired or deferred.

Someone mentioned a kind of defect (radio 2 inop) and its relevance to a
particular flight. There are essentially two types of defects. One which
grounds the airplane according to the MMEL (Manufacturer's Mininum Equipment
List). The MMEL tells the operator which systems are required as a minimum
for airworthy operations and what can be inop and still fly. The second
kind of defect is called an Acceptable Deferred Deffect, known as an ADD.
Essentially an ADD is a defect which the MMEL says can be lived with for a
set period of time. What the MMEL says is acceptable and not is based on
the design of the aircraft or system, nature of the failure of the
component, and a statistical analysis of a problem occurring based on having
that component inop for a certain time period. ADDs normally have a life of
3, 10, or 120 days, which means they have to be fixed by then or a
concession raised. Jeez, this is all starting to sound pretty complex. Let
me give you an example.
[snip]

That was a great post, but I'm still a little fuzzy on the
requirements. Could someone address this example:

I check out a 172 from the club, but the landing light is burned out.
I'm flying "not for hire", VFR around a class G airport, so no
requirements for radios, transponder, or landing light (day or night).
The landing light switch has not been labeled, just a note in the squawk
sheet behind the tach sheets, or maybe not even squawked, perhaps I
found the problem during pre-flight.

Can I still legally fly this plane? It meets all the requirements for
day and night VFR if the landing light was not installed at all. But do
I have to have the equipment pulled or disabled to fly? What would the
owner (e.g. a flying club) need to do to allow this bird to fly in this
condition? (obviously repair the burned out bulb, but other than that).

DanH