Aircraft mechanics are typically very busy, and they have excellent memories of which pilots log copious amounts of inconsequential squawks.
No pilot wants to develop a reputation for being a notorious over-squawker because like the boy who cried wolf, the mechanic may start to pay less attention to your entries over time.
When you later log a serious issue, you risk it not getting the attention it deserves thanks to your track record of recording overly minor squawks. If the issue you are about to squawk has already been squawked and that squawk is still open, it does no good for you to log a duplicate squawk.
Just like hanging up and calling back when placed on hold with your credit card company, re-squawking an issue will not get it addressed any faster. Before you squawk, check the squawk sheet for the aircraft and see what squawks are still pending. If your issue is already pending, do not re-squawk. You have made sure that the problem you are about to squawk is a legitimate aircraft issue, not a pilot-related problem.
You assessed the severity of the concern and decided that a squawk is warranted. You checked the open squawks for the aircraft and the issue you are about to squawk is not already pending. Now all you need to know is how to write up your squawk correctly, professionally, and thoroughly so that it is actually helpful to the mechanic who will be solving the problem. The cardinal rule of writing up a squawk is to provide pertinent details and relevant information that will aid in diagnosis.
Do not write a novel, but do include the specifics of what happened, when it happened, what you were doing when the problem occurred, where on the aircraft you noticed the issue, etc. Poor quality squawks rely on generalizations while high quality squawks are precise and detailed. For some hard to diagnose problems, recording the precise details of conditions when the event occurred may be the difference between the mechanic being able to fix the problem and them writing it off as an issue they were unable to replicate.
Naturally even if you have a squawk-worthy in-flight issue, by the time you land and sit down to write it up, it is unlikely that you will remember all of the pertinent details unless you have a system in place to capture them. To give your mechanic the best information possible, record data like altitude, power settings, attitude and flight conditions as soon as possible after the incident. Jotting down a quick note on your kneeboard right away will give you something to reference later when you write up your squawk.
This information may also be exactly what the mechanic needs to diagnose and fix the problem. Depending on the issue, an onboard video recorder can also be helpful for capturing the sequence of events real-time. Consider this if you have a persistent problem that you have squawked several times but which the mechanic has not been able to diagnose based on your notes.
Although you may be frustrated by an aircraft malfunction, remember that the maintenance engineer has the same ultimate objective as you do: a fully functional aircraft. When you write your squawk, read it back and consider how it will sound to the mechanic. The mechanic does not like an unsolved mechanical issue any more than you do.
Odds are that they are not trying to brush off your squawk, but that they simply were unable to locate the problem with the information provided. If you do need to re-open a squawk, consider what additional details you can provide to aid in the troubleshooting process. Keep the tone professional, not frustrated. You may have heard how little physicians appreciate the patient who walks into their office and proceeds to share their self-diagnosis gleaned from the content of various internet sources.
Well, aircraft mechanics often feel the same about pilots and their squawks. If you note that your oil temperature remained normal and that when you did a postflight inspection, the oil quantity still read the same as it did preflight with no obvious leaks, the mechanic gets a more thorough understanding of exactly what is happening and what troubleshooting measures you have already taken prior to squawking the issue.
Nearly any aircraft issue can be written up as a squawk, although there are trends. Some of the most commonly seen squawks involve flat spots on tires, worn tread on tires, missing required inspections, leaking fuel, and inoperative or intermittently operative gauges.
Although often unintentional, some pilots have logged squawks that were just begging for a witty response from the maintenance crew. Other times the pilots were serious, and it was the maintenance techs who took the opportunity to make a playful little jab at the pilots. Only if the correct squawk code is entered into the transponder will it appear on ATC screens with the correct information. At times, aircraft might be asked to change their squawk codes once airborne.
This might be to better communicate with other towers or if entering restricted airspace. This means a flight might have multiple squawk codes depending on where it is flying and on what path. At the heart of most aviation practices lies safety and squawk codes are no exception. These four-digit codes are very important to ensure aircraft separation , especially during takeoffs and landings.
Air traffic control uses squawk codes to monitor aircraft positions on information screens, ensuring that they do not break minimum separation while flying. Having the transponder off or inputting incorrect squawk codes can lead to a safety threat and security situation, as has happened in the past. Squawk codes particularly helpful in crowded airspace, where ATC has to manage multiple aircraft simultaneously.
Since most arrival and departure paths are already set, ATC must ensure that there are no aircraft in the vicinity. Perhaps the most publicly known squawk codes are those used for emergency conditions. These three ICAO-assigned squawk codes can be used by any aircraft with a transponder to explain their emergency to flight controllers.
The first emergency code is Squawk This code is used to indicate that the aircraft has been hijacked and requires emergency support from security services and air traffic control.
The code has become popular due to its use in movies, with movies and Flight alluding to the code in their titles. And, in reality, the term referring to communication from something flying through the sky does originate from a bird. To let air traffic control know that a plane was "friendly," a two-way communication system was set up using a transponder. Air traffic control would put out a request for an aircraft to identify itself.
If the aircraft identified itself with a code, then they established themselves as friendly. Instead, SQUAWKing refers to a specific transponder code that aircraft can use to identify themselves or send a specific message to air traffic control.
SQUAWK codes are four digits and they are used to easily identify a specific aircraft when detected on a radar, or to determine what an aircraft needs in the case of an emergency or situation in which a flight plan needs to be changed. Basically, SQUAWKs are the communication tool that allows a constant dialogue between pilots and air traffic controllers.
Air traffic control lets the pilot know before flight begins what their SQUAWK code will be, then pilots are instructed to set their transponder to that code. The controller will see that a pilot has set the code and then be able to track the aircraft while in flight. When air traffic controllers check their radar screens, they will see a flight's SQUAWK code and know that it will refer to the specific flight it was given to.
By looking at a specific flight's SQUAWK code, air traffic controllers can help you do things like notice traffic around you, get you back on track if you've become lost, help you stay out of restricted airspace, and more. A pilot's transponder should remain on throughout an entire flight unless instructed otherwise by air traffic control. Transponders can be switched off after a flight's final landing, once the aircraft has exited the runway.
Transponders also have a button on them that is labeled "ident," short for identification. This button allows a pilot or aircraft to identify itself easily and quickly to air traffic control. Pilots should avoid pressing the ident button on the transponder unless asked to by air traffic control, since pressing this button enlarges your aircraft and makes it bright temporarily on-air traffic control radar screens, making it easier for air traffic controllers to identify you and pick you out.
When a pilot activates Mode C on their transponder, the transponder also communicates the plane's altitude information. Most commercial aircraft and planes that are able to take cross-country flights automatically transmit aircraft altitude in foot increments.
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