Follow-up and troubleshooting

This page explains how flight status updates flow from the Pilot App into the Flights module, what typical follow-up tasks look like, and when to continue your investigation in another module.

How flight status updates from the Pilot App

The normal flight lifecycle starts and finishes in the Pilot App:

1. Departure — the pilot initiates a departure in the Pilot App. This creates an active flight record with open status in the Flights module. The departure time, route, aircraft, and PIC are recorded at this point.
2. In flight — while the flight is in progress, it remains visible in the Flights module as an open flight. No further updates are expected during this phase.
3. Arrival — the pilot completes the arrival flow in the Pilot App. This closes the flight, records the arrival time, and changes the status to closed.

Why a flight might remain open

There are several reasons a flight can stay open after the aircraft has actually landed:

• The pilot forgot to complete the arrival flow in the Pilot App
• The pilot's device lost connectivity before the arrival could be submitted
• The app crashed or was closed before the arrival flow was finished
• The pilot started the arrival flow but did not complete all required steps
• A technical issue prevented the arrival data from being processed

In all of these cases, the flight will continue to appear as open in the Flights module until the situation is resolved.

Treating open flights as follow-up signals

Every open flight in the Flights module should be treated as a signal that may need attention. This does not mean every open flight is a problem — many open flights represent flights that are genuinely still in the air. However, an open flight that has been active for longer than its expected duration deserves investigation.

A practical approach:

Typical follow-up tasks

Check whether a flight is still ongoing

1. Open Flights.
2. Find the flight in question — look for flights with open status.
3. Note the departure time, route (departure and destination airfields), and aircraft type.
4. Estimate whether the flight should still be in progress based on the route and typical flight time for that aircraft type.
5. If the flight duration is within the expected range, no action is needed yet. Check again after an appropriate interval.
6. If the flight has been open much longer than expected, proceed to the next task.

Investigate a missing arrival

When a flight appears to have been open for too long:

1. Find the flight in the list and review its details — departure time, route, aircraft, and PIC.
2. Check whether the departure is present but the arrival time is still empty. This confirms that the arrival flow was not completed.
3. Contact the crew or the operations desk to confirm whether the aircraft has actually landed.
4. If the aircraft has landed, the pilot should complete the arrival in the Pilot App. If that is not possible, the situation may need to be resolved through the appropriate operational process.
5. Once the arrival is recorded, verify that the flight status changes to closed.

Verify route information

Sometimes a flight is closed but the route information looks incorrect:

1. Find the flight in the list.
2. Compare the departure airfield and destination airfield against the expected route.
3. If the route does not match what was planned or what actually occurred, note the discrepancy.
4. Continue in Flight register if the aerodrome movement record needs correction, or in Fleet if the aircraft flight log needs updating.

Review flights from a previous day

1. Open the flight list and look for open flights with departure dates earlier than today.
2. For each such flight, note the departure details and PIC.
3. Contact the PIC or review operational records to determine what happened.
4. Ensure the flight is closed out through the appropriate process.
5. Follow up in Flight register if the aerodrome movement record is also incomplete.

When to continue in Flight register

Switch to Flight register when your follow-up question is about the aerodrome movement record rather than the live flight status. Specific situations include:

• You need to verify that a movement was recorded in the official aerodrome register
• You need to add a manual entry for a movement that was not captured
• You need to correct movement details in the register for compliance purposes
• You want to review all movements at the aerodrome for a specific date, not just flights
• The question is about airfield openings, closings, or other non-flight operational actions

The Flights module shows you whether a flight is open or closed. The Flight register shows you what movements were officially recorded at the aerodrome.

When to continue in Fleet

Switch to Fleet when your follow-up question moves into aircraft-specific territory. Specific situations include:

• You need the full flight history for the aircraft, including flights at other aerodromes
• You need Hobbs time data for billing or maintenance calculations
• You are investigating a defect or maintenance item related to the aircraft
• The follow-up involves financial or billing questions about the flight
• You need dispatch or availability information for the aircraft

The Flights module shows you the operational status of flights. Fleet shows you the complete history and status of the aircraft itself.

Deciding where to go next

When you are following up on a flight and are unsure where to continue, consider what your question is really about:

Good practice

• Treat every open flight as a follow-up signal that deserves attention, not as something to ignore
• Evaluate open flights in context — consider the expected flight duration before escalating
• Follow up on flights from previous days as a priority, since these are almost always incomplete close-outs rather than ongoing flights
• Contact the crew or operations desk before making assumptions about what happened with an open flight
• Use Flight register when the question is about the aerodrome record and Fleet when the question is about the aircraft
• Build a routine of reviewing open flights at regular intervals during operations, especially during busy periods
• Resolve open flights promptly rather than letting them accumulate, as a backlog of open flights makes it harder to identify genuinely active flights