ATO Inspections Practice Test

The key idea here is that a defect is classified by how much it threatens flight safety. A defect that constitutes a hazard to airworthiness is one that could jeopardize the aircraft’s safe operation and must be addressed before flight. This is what makes a defect a critical defect: it represents a genuine risk to the aircraft, its occupants, or people on the ground, and it typically requires immediate corrective action or the aircraft to be grounded.

Minor defects are differences that do not endanger flight safety; they may affect aesthetics or require later repair but don’t stop the aircraft from flying safely. Daily inspection and visual inspection are not defect types themselves—they are procedures used to check the aircraft. They don’t designate a hazard category like a critical defect does.