Definition
A written record of any fault, malfunction, or abnormality found on an aircraft, used to document the issue so it can be tracked, evaluated, and corrected by maintenance personnel before the aircraft is returned to service.
Plain English
A written note that something is wrong with the aircraft, so the problem is recorded and gets fixed properly instead of being forgotten or passed on to the next pilot.
Context Anchor
Pilots encounter discrepancy reports after preflight inspections, during postflight write-ups, and when reviewing an aircraft’s condition before accepting it for a flight.
Derivation
From Latin discrepare, meaning 'to differ' or 'to disagree.' A discrepancy is something that doesn't match what it should be — here, the aircraft's condition not matching its expected airworthy state.
Why Pilots Care
Ensures defects are tracked and resolved so the aircraft remains airworthy and safe for flight.
Intuition Check
A discrepancy report is not just a complaint or casual note. In this context, it is a formal record of something that may need inspection, correction, or approval before further flight.
Example Sentence 1
After landing, the pilot filed a discrepancy report noting that the landing light failed to illuminate during the preflight check.
Example Sentence 2
Maintenance reviewed the discrepancy report and cleared the open items before releasing the aircraft for the training flight.