Plain English Meaning

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.

Full 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.

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 its expected .