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A line aircraft maintenance technician (amt) states that aileron flight control cables had frozen on an erj-175 aircraft after he had deferred a forward galley coffee maker for lack of water. Technician noted the lack of any information in the MEL about deferring coffee makers and the possibility of flight controls freezing needs to be addressed.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1269141 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201501 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Environment | |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | EMB ERJ 170/175 ER/LR |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Parked |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Potable Water Storage control indication |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Technician |
| Qualification | Maintenance Airframe Maintenance Apprentice Maintenance Powerplant |
| Experience | Maintenance Technician 20 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown |
Narrative:
Discrepancy showed both forward coffee makers inop. I had used MEL to defer no-water at the coffee makers. I had confirmed there was water at the forward lav so the lav would stay in service. I did not see any errors in the paperwork.I learned that aircraft X was the aircraft that had frozen flight controls due to a water leak. [Later]; it became clear to me that had fault isolation manual (fim) 38-11-00-810 been completed and if there was a water leak it may [have] been discovered preventing the inflight emergency. At the time I completed the MEL I was unaware that potable water could cause a flight control problem. On the date I placed the potable water on MEL; I was not aware of the possibility of the potable water system leaking and freezing causing stiffness of aileron cables. Changing the MEL to require an inspection for leaks if there is no water in the forward monuments [lavatories] may increase awareness and prevent a future occurrence.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A Line Aircraft Maintenance Technician (AMT) states that aileron flight control cables had frozen on an ERJ-175 aircraft after he had deferred a Forward Galley coffee maker for lack of water. Technician noted the lack of any information in the MEL about deferring coffee makers and the possibility of flight controls freezing needs to be addressed.
Narrative: Discrepancy showed both forward coffee makers inop. I had used MEL to defer no-water at the coffee makers. I had confirmed there was water at the Forward lav so the lav would stay in service. I did not see any errors in the paperwork.I learned that Aircraft X was the aircraft that had frozen flight controls due to a water leak. [Later]; it became clear to me that had Fault Isolation Manual (FIM) 38-11-00-810 been completed and if there was a water leak it may [have] been discovered preventing the inflight emergency. At the time I completed the MEL I was unaware that potable water could cause a flight control problem. On the date I placed the potable water on MEL; I was not aware of the possibility of the Potable Water System leaking and freezing causing stiffness of aileron cables. Changing the MEL to require an inspection for leaks if there is no water in the forward monuments [lavatories] may increase awareness and prevent a future occurrence.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.