Narrative:

Dispatched from mia-iah with airworthiness signed today, placard on one of the transformer/rectifiers dated jul/xx/94. Checked MEL which states that the item must be repaired by midnight of the third consecutive calendar day, 'excluding the day the malfunction was recorded in the aircraft maintenance record/logbook.' that meant that the aircraft was ok to fly all day today, and we departed mia. However, en route I went through the last 10 days write-ups in the pocket of the logbook and discovered that the original write-up was dated jul/yy/94, and the placard was issued the following morning. Therefore, it appears to me that the 'repair interval' provision of the MEL was violated and the aircraft should not have been operated until repaired. However, my first officer interprets the MEL wording to mean when the placard is recorded in the logbook, not when the original write-up is made, so I am unsure which is correct. If this was indeed a violation, several changes to maintenance procedures could help prevent a recurrence. 1) date all placards the same date as the original writeup. 2) don't pull out the copies of the original write-ups and hide them in the back of the logbook until the resulting placard has been cleared. 3) if suggestion #1 is not legal or proper, then establish an alternate means of tracking the expiration of the repair intervals. I have always just looked at the placard dates on the front of the logbook, but now that I have dug into the MEL more thoroughly, I realize that that is not adequate.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: MEL REQUIREMENTS MISINTERP BY PIC OF MLG.

Narrative: DISPATCHED FROM MIA-IAH WITH AIRWORTHINESS SIGNED TODAY, PLACARD ON ONE OF THE TRANSFORMER/RECTIFIERS DATED JUL/XX/94. CHKED MEL WHICH STATES THAT THE ITEM MUST BE REPAIRED BY MIDNIGHT OF THE THIRD CONSECUTIVE CALENDAR DAY, 'EXCLUDING THE DAY THE MALFUNCTION WAS RECORDED IN THE ACFT MAINT RECORD/LOGBOOK.' THAT MEANT THAT THE ACFT WAS OK TO FLY ALL DAY TODAY, AND WE DEPARTED MIA. HOWEVER, ENRTE I WENT THROUGH THE LAST 10 DAYS WRITE-UPS IN THE POCKET OF THE LOGBOOK AND DISCOVERED THAT THE ORIGINAL WRITE-UP WAS DATED JUL/YY/94, AND THE PLACARD WAS ISSUED THE FOLLOWING MORNING. THEREFORE, IT APPEARS TO ME THAT THE 'REPAIR INTERVAL' PROVISION OF THE MEL WAS VIOLATED AND THE ACFT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN OPERATED UNTIL REPAIRED. HOWEVER, MY FO INTERPRETS THE MEL WORDING TO MEAN WHEN THE PLACARD IS RECORDED IN THE LOGBOOK, NOT WHEN THE ORIGINAL WRITE-UP IS MADE, SO I AM UNSURE WHICH IS CORRECT. IF THIS WAS INDEED A VIOLATION, SEVERAL CHANGES TO MAINT PROCS COULD HELP PREVENT A RECURRENCE. 1) DATE ALL PLACARDS THE SAME DATE AS THE ORIGINAL WRITEUP. 2) DON'T PULL OUT THE COPIES OF THE ORIGINAL WRITE-UPS AND HIDE THEM IN THE BACK OF THE LOGBOOK UNTIL THE RESULTING PLACARD HAS BEEN CLRED. 3) IF SUGGESTION #1 IS NOT LEGAL OR PROPER, THEN ESTABLISH AN ALTERNATE MEANS OF TRACKING THE EXPIRATION OF THE REPAIR INTERVALS. I HAVE ALWAYS JUST LOOKED AT THE PLACARD DATES ON THE FRONT OF THE LOGBOOK, BUT NOW THAT I HAVE DUG INTO THE MEL MORE THOROUGHLY, I REALIZE THAT THAT IS NOT ADEQUATE.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.