The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):
pilot error
n.
[Sun: from aviation] A user's misconfiguration or misuse of a piece of
software, producing apparently buglike results (compare UBD). ?Joe Luser
reported a bug in sendmail that causes it to generate bogus headers.? ?
That's not a bug, that's pilot error. His sendmail.cf is hosed.? Compare
PEBKAC, UBD, ID10T.
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):
pilot error
(Sun, from aviation) A user's misconfiguration or
misuse of a piece of software, producing apparently bug-like
results.
E.g. "Joe Luser reported a bug in sendmail that causes it to
generate bogus headers." "That's not a bug, that's pilot
error. His "sendmail.cf" is hosed."
Compare UBD.
[Jargon File]
(1994-12-05)