Squawk Workflow and Lifecycle

Overview

A squawk is only as useful as the process that follows it. A report filed and then forgotten is almost worse than no report at all — it creates a false sense that the issue is being handled when it is not. Centerline's squawk system is designed to make sure every reported issue stays visible until someone with the authority to close it does so deliberately. Nothing silently disappears.

The squawk lifecycle is intentionally simple: a squawk is either OPEN or CLOSED. This two-state model reflects a clear accountability principle — an issue is either unresolved and demanding attention, or it has been reviewed and formally resolved by someone qualified to make that call. There is no ambiguous middle ground where an issue can quietly fade from view. Every squawk that gets filed stays in the OPEN state until a person with maintenance authority explicitly closes it, adds resolution notes, and takes responsibility for that determination.

This structure prevents the most common failure mode in informal maintenance tracking, which is items that fall through the cracks — reported once, never quite resolved, and not visible enough to create urgency. In Centerline, an open squawk on a grounding issue will remain amber and prominent in the list every single day until it is closed. That visibility is intentional.

The Two Statuses

OPEN

Every squawk starts as OPEN the moment it is filed. OPEN means the issue has been reported and has not been formally resolved. It makes no claim about whether maintenance has looked at it, whether a repair has been scheduled, or how serious the issue is — those details live in the maintenance comments. OPEN simply means: this item is not done.

Open squawks appear with an amber badge. On the squawk list, they sort above closed squawks. Grounding squawks within the open group sort to the very top, because they have the most immediate impact on flight operations.

CLOSED

CLOSED means a person with maintenance authority has reviewed the squawk, taken whatever action was warranted, documented the outcome in the maintenance comments, and formally resolved the item. Closing a squawk is a deliberate act of accountability — it is not something that happens automatically or by the passage of time.

Closed squawks are hidden by default on the squawk list. They remain permanently in the system and can be viewed at any time by enabling Show closed squawks. The full original report, any attachments, and the maintenance comments are all preserved.

Who Can Close a Squawk

Only users with the Maintenance role or the Account Owner role can edit and close squawks. This is an intentional permission boundary. Closing a squawk is a maintenance determination — a statement that the aircraft is airworthy with respect to the reported issue. That decision should only be made by someone with the authority and qualifications to make it.

Any member can file a squawk. Only maintenance-authorized personnel can resolve one.

The Resolution Process

When maintenance personnel work a squawk, the typical flow looks like this:

1. Review the squawk — Open the squawk detail to read the full description, look at any photos or attachments, and understand what the pilot reported.

2. Investigate — Inspect the aircraft, reproduce the issue if possible, and determine the cause and appropriate action.

3. Take action — Perform the repair, make a logbook entry, or make a documented determination (for example, inspected and found within limits, or deferred in accordance with MEL/club policy).

4. Update the squawk — Click the pencil icon to open the edit dialog. Add a Maintenance Comments entry explaining what was found and what was done. This note is visible to all club members and becomes the permanent record of how the issue was resolved.

5. Close the squawk — Check the Closed checkbox in the edit dialog and click Update Squawk. The squawk moves to CLOSED status and is removed from the default view.

6. Notifications go out — When a squawk is closed, members who have access to that aircraft and have not muted squawk notifications receive an automatic notification that the issue has been resolved.

Grounding Squawks and Airworthiness

When a pilot checks Recommend Grounding on a squawk, they are flagging that in their judgment the aircraft should not fly until the issue is reviewed. This is an advisory from the reporting pilot — it is not an automatic system lockout — but it carries real weight and should be treated seriously.

A grounding squawk that is still OPEN means:

• The issue has not been reviewed and resolved by maintenance
• The aircraft should not be dispatched until that review happens
• Anyone viewing the aircraft's squawks will see the red Recommend Grounding badge prominently displayed

When maintenance reviews a grounding squawk, there are two appropriate outcomes. First, they can repair the issue, document the repair in the maintenance comments, remove the grounding recommendation if appropriate, and close the squawk. Second, if they determine the aircraft is actually airworthy (for example, the reported symptom was within acceptable limits), they should document that determination clearly in the maintenance comments so that pilots have a record of the decision, and then close the squawk.

What should not happen is closing a grounding squawk without any maintenance comments. If another pilot later asks why a previously grounding squawk was closed, the comments field should give them a clear answer.

Maintenance Comments

The Maintenance Comments field (labeled Comments in the edit dialog) is the primary communication channel from maintenance back to the club. Good maintenance comments answer:

• What did you find when you inspected the aircraft?
• What did you do about it?
• If you did not repair it, why not, and is the aircraft still airworthy?
• Is there any follow-up needed?

Maintenance comments are visible to all organization members on the squawk list and in the detail view. They create accountability and transparency — every pilot who looks at that aircraft's squawk history can see not just what was reported, but how it was handled and by implication. Detailed comments are a mark of professional maintenance practice and build trust throughout the club.

Editing a Squawk

Maintenance-authorized users can edit any field on an existing squawk, not just the status and comments. This includes:

• Correcting the occurrence date if it was entered incorrectly
• Updating or clarifying the description
• Adding or removing the grounding recommendation
• Adding new attachments (photos of the completed repair, for example)
• Removing outdated or incorrect attachments

The ability to edit a squawk is not an invitation to rewrite history — it exists to let maintenance keep the record accurate and complete as more information comes in.

Deleting a Squawk

Users with the Maintenance role or Account Owner role can delete a squawk entirely using the trash icon in the edit dialog. Deletion is permanent and should be reserved for cases where a squawk was filed in error — for example, a duplicate report or a test entry. Squawks that represent real issues, even already-resolved ones, should be closed rather than deleted so that the history is preserved.

Tips

• Close squawks promptly after resolution. An open squawk that has already been fixed but not yet closed creates confusion. Other pilots see it and do not know whether it is still a live issue. Close it as soon as the work is done.
• Always add maintenance comments before closing. A squawk closed with no comments provides no information to anyone. Even a brief note like "Inspected, adjusted brake pads, test flown OK" is far better than silence.
• Use comments during the work, not just at the end. You can update a squawk's comments at any point — not just when you close it. Adding a note like "Awaiting part, estimated completion Thursday" keeps the club informed and reduces the number of people calling to ask about the status.
• Grounding squawks need explicit resolution. Do not close a grounding squawk without a comment that explains why the aircraft is now airworthy. The comment is the record that justifies the airworthiness determination.
• Closed does not mean forgotten. Enable Show closed squawks periodically to review resolution history, look for recurring issues on the same aircraft, or verify that a previously reported problem stayed fixed.