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A captain reports about a contract maintenance mechanic who did not perform a full three to five minute engine run on their A319 aircraft to determine cause of an oil leak found under # 1 engine by the flight crew during a walkaround. Flight was canceled after second engine run due to excessive oil leaking and lack of parts.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1116102 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201309 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | A319 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Parked |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Engine Oil Seals |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Flying |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 100 Flight Crew Total 11500 Flight Crew Type 4500 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy |
Narrative:
Number 1 engine leak found on walk around by [flight] crew. Maintenance control and station notified. Maintenance control wanted an engine run to check for leaks; crew agreed and was given a safety briefing by maintenance control. I then reviewed with the contract mechanic what was going to happen and safety issues; including that maintenance control's instructions were; after engine was stable at idle; it was to be run for 3-5 minutes. Started engine and when idle reached [I] started clock; at 0:40 seconds the mechanic said to shut down engine. I thought he had found the leak so I shut it down and stopped the clock at 0:57 seconds. He returned to the cockpit and said all was good; no leak. I asked why he didn't let the engine run for the required amount of time? He replied that he did. I pointed to my clock and said he clearly did not. Did I want to do it again? Yes. This time I asked a pass riding company mechanic if he would assist and make sure everything was done properly. On second engine run; the leak became clearly visible about the three minute mark. Flight cancelled.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A Captain reports about a Contract Maintenance Mechanic who did not perform a full three to five minute Engine Run on their A319 aircraft to determine cause of an oil leak found under # 1 Engine by the flight crew during a walkaround. Flight was canceled after second engine run due to excessive oil leaking and lack of parts.
Narrative: Number 1 Engine leak found on walk around by [flight] crew. Maintenance Control and Station notified. Maintenance Control wanted an engine run to check for leaks; crew agreed and was given a safety briefing by Maintenance Control. I then reviewed with the Contract Mechanic what was going to happen and safety issues; including that Maintenance Control's instructions were; after engine was stable at idle; it was to be run for 3-5 minutes. Started engine and when idle reached [I] started clock; at 0:40 seconds the Mechanic said to shut down engine. I thought he had found the leak so I shut it down and stopped the clock at 0:57 seconds. He returned to the cockpit and said all was good; no leak. I asked why he didn't let the engine run for the required amount of time? He replied that he did. I pointed to my clock and said he clearly did not. Did I want to do it again? Yes. This time I asked a pass riding company Mechanic if he would assist and make sure everything was done properly. On second engine run; the leak became clearly visible about the three minute mark. Flight cancelled.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.