Crew is being blamed for flying with a missing maintenance inspection panel.

Attributes
ACN	548650
Time
Date	200205
Day	Fri
Local Time Of Day	1801 To 2400
Place
Locale Reference	airport : zzz.airport
State Reference	US
Altitude	agl single value : 0
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	Commercial Fixed Wing
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	ground : parked
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Qualification	pilot : atp
ASRS Report	548650
Person 2
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : first officer
Qualification	pilot : commercial
ASRS Report	548630
Events
Anomaly	aircraft equipment problem : less severe maintenance problem : improper maintenance non adherence : published procedure non adherence : far non adherence : company policies
Independent Detector	aircraft equipment other aircraft equipment : missing inspection panel other other : 3
Resolutory Action	none taken : detected after the fact
Consequence	other other
Factors
Maintenance	contributing factor : schedule pressure performance deficiency : inspection performance deficiency : non compliance with legal requirements performance deficiency : training
Supplementary
Problem Areas	Company Maintenance Human Performance
Primary Problem	Maintenance Human Performance

Narrative:

I was advised by company that the flight I made from ZZZ to ferry an aircraft involved a missing inspection panel. I called maintenance control to ask about this and was told that the maintenance people at ZZZ did an inventory and found a wing inspection panel that was not installed on the aircraft. She also said the panel was about football size and was located on the top of the right wing near the wingtip. Both my first officer and myself performed a walkaround inspection and found no problems. It seems that this panel is impossible to see during a walkaround inspection. By the time we were in the flight deck ready to start engines, it was dark outside and so not possible to see this panel from inside the aircraft.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: CREW IS BEING BLAMED FOR FLYING WITH A MISSING MAINT INSPECTION PANEL.

Narrative: I WAS ADVISED BY COMPANY THAT THE FLT I MADE FROM ZZZ TO FERRY AN ACFT INVOLVED A MISSING INSPECTION PANEL. I CALLED MAINT CTL TO ASK ABOUT THIS AND WAS TOLD THAT THE MAINT PEOPLE AT ZZZ DID AN INVENTORY AND FOUND A WING INSPECTION PANEL THAT WAS NOT INSTALLED ON THE ACFT. SHE ALSO SAID THE PANEL WAS ABOUT FOOTBALL SIZE AND WAS LOCATED ON THE TOP OF THE R WING NEAR THE WINGTIP. BOTH MY FO AND MYSELF PERFORMED A WALKAROUND INSPECTION AND FOUND NO PROBS. IT SEEMS THAT THIS PANEL IS IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE DURING A WALKAROUND INSPECTION. BY THE TIME WE WERE IN THE FLT DECK READY TO START ENGS, IT WAS DARK OUTSIDE AND SO NOT POSSIBLE TO SEE THIS PANEL FROM INSIDE THE ACFT.

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.