- Before
- Reads every new AD and its bulletin, then decides tail by tail in a spreadsheet: “Show me why each tail is in or out, with the paragraph — I sign the call, not the spreadsheet.”
- Now
- Opens a sieve built from the AD's own paragraphs, with the record and confidence behind every tail, decides the one call below 0.85 and signs with a reason code.
Airworthiness directive tracking, one AD at a time: from the Federal Register to a signed status line
Thursday, October 15, 2026, 07:40 at DEN. Corvane Airways flies 300 aircraft, and AD 2026-19-07 — cracking at the forward end of the slat main tracks on 737-8 airplanes, effective on publication — needs an AD engineer's signature today. Here is what happens next, screen by screen, in the working solution.
- 0107:40
A morning briefing, and a question in plain words
Dana Whitfield · Airworthiness Directive Engineer (structures)Dana's Today screen shows 3 new ADs this week, 1 call waiting for her, 4 tails due within 50 cycles and 9 recurring inspections in 30 days. The applicability agent's briefing says one AD needs her signature: 14 of 62 tails apply, four inside 50 cycles, and the check agent agrees after one correction. She asks whether N834CV is legal to fly tonight.
Applicability agent: “Yes. It has 41 cycles left on AD 2026-19-07 and no other AD item open past due; its status report shows 74 applicable ADs, all within limits.”
- 02Tuesday 06:02
The AD found, read and quoted with its bulletin
AD watch agent and AD reader agentThe watch agent found AD 2026-19-07 in the Federal Register and fetched Alert Requirements Bulletin 737-57A1442 RB; it filtered AD 2026-19-05 because the fleet has no 737-7s. The reader agent extracted paragraphs (a) to (l) and Parts 1 to 3 of the bulletin, and wrote the plain summary with 9 quotes: what is unsafe, what to do, by when — (g)(1) within 50 cycles for airplanes at 7,500 cycles or more, (g)(2) before 8,000 cycles for the rest, repeat every 1,500 — and what ends it, replacing all eight tracks with P/N 311A1856-9.
The AD reader agent never paraphrases a compliance time without the quote.
- 03The sieve
The fleet falls through the AD's own paragraphs
Applicability agentEach applicability paragraph becomes a sieve, quoted in the AD's words. ¶(c) takes 300 aircraft to 62 737-8s; ¶(c)(1), line numbers 7212 through 8460, stops 24; ¶(c)(2), a slat main track P/N 311A1856-3 or -5 installed at slats 2 to 5, stops 16 that already carry -9 tracks; ¶(k), credit for an inspection under the August alert bulletin, stops 8 that still get the 1,500-cycle repeat. Fourteen come through, ordered by cycles left — thirteen on the first pass, and one more after the check agent refused a credit.
- 04One click
Why N835CV is out — and why it is her call
Dana Whitfield · AD engineerAny tail opens to show why it is in or out. N835CV stopped at ¶(c)(2): seven tracks are -9, but slat 3L carries a -7 from a 2024 repair, a dash number the AD does not list. The agent's confidence is 0.71, below the 0.85 threshold, so it does not decide. It suggests moving the tail in until the part is checked on the aircraft; Dana can move it in with a reason.
The applicability agent never decides a tail below confidence 0.85, and never removes a tail without a record.
- 05Wednesday 18:20
A second agent recomputes blind and refuses one credit
Check agent and report agentThe check agent recomputed the call from the raw records without seeing the first answer. It agreed on 61 of 62 tails and refused the ¶(k) credit for N858CV, a Halvard Air tail: the scanned pack has 6 pages and the task card refers to a result sheet on page 7. Under rule R4 there is no credit without it, so N858CV moved into the tails that apply, due at 8,000 cycles with 3,380 left. The report agent drafted the records request, and an AMOC request for N829CV's repaired slat 4R track under ¶(l)(3).
Check agent: “Without it there is no credit (rule R4); N858CV is due at 8,000 cycles anyway — 3,380 left — so nothing is at risk while we look.”
- 06Asked in the thread
“What if we replace every track with -9 now?”
Planner agentDana weighs the terminating action against repeat inspections. The planner agent answers in the thread: replacement ends the repeats but takes 46 labor hours per airplane, and DEN stores hold 12 tracks — one and a half airplanes. It proposes the -9 replacement at the three C-checks already planned, N837CV, N839CV and N842CV, and the inspection for the rest.
- 07Signed
She approves the applicability call with a reason code
Dana Whitfield · AD engineerApproving takes a reason code — A1 call confirmed as proposed, A2 confirmed with a tail moved in, A3 confirmed with a tail moved out, or X1 send back to the agents — an optional note for the record, and her e-signature. She signs A1: 14 of 62 737-8s apply, 48 are out, each with the paragraph and the record that stopped it.
“I approve the applicability call for AD 2026-19-07 as Dana Whitfield, AD Engineer — e-signature, Thu, Oct 15, 2026 07:42.”
- 08Tonight at DEN
A due point per tail, and a slot that beats it
Planner agent and Elena Kowalski · Maintenance plannerN834CV has 7,977 of 8,018 cycles at 4.6 a day, so it reaches its limit around Oct 24; its next DEN overnight with a hangar after tonight is Oct 26 — two days too late. The planner agent proposes tonight, Hangar 4, 22:30 to 04:30: 6.5 labor hours, with the HFEC kit and two Level II technicians free. The plan shows 4 tails inside 50 cycles, 3 to replace with -9, 209.5 labor hours and engineering order EO-26-0412. Elena accepts the slot and the work package goes to the night shift.
The planner agent never books a slot or orders parts; the planner accepts.
- 0902:10
Signed work comes back and is checked against the AD
Proof agent and Jordan Pike · Technical recordsDEN line maintenance signs WO-26-77310: 8 of 8 tracks at slats 2 to 5 inspected, no cracks, the HFEC result sheet attached, inspector stamp DEN-114 at 7,981 cycles. The proof agent checks method, bulletin revision, steps, results and stamp against ¶(g)(1) and proposes closure. Jordan Pike confirms compliance, and the next inspection is set at 9,481 cycles.
The proof agent never closes an item with a missing page and never edits a record.
- 10Version 216
The AD status report is current, line by line
Report agent and Marcus Bell · Director of QualityThe report agent regenerated the AD status report: AD 2026-19-07 added to 14 tails, N834CV complied, repeat at 9,481 cycles. N834CV's report lists each applicable AD with its amendment, method of compliance, date complied and next action due, each line linked to its evidence. Version 216 waits for Marcus Bell's signature; the report exports as a PDF or CSV for the FAA inspector.
The report agent never signs or sends anything to the FAA.