Narrative:

Departing elp, loud air noise came from captain's sliding window. Held overhead to burn down to maximum landing weight and landed back at elp. After landing, found the aft lower cam of sliding window out of the track. The handle could not be moved at all, yellow lines matched, and the handle was full forward and locked. Also found forward upper cam screw loose. 2 possibilities crossed my first officer's and my mind: 1) possible sabotage, which turned out not to be the case. 2) someone forced the window closed and was afraid to report it, to avoid getting in trouble, which wasn't the case either. With these concerns, I called for the station manager who was not there. The flight service supervisor and ramp supervisor came to hear my concerns. They were very helpful. Contract maintenance arrived after waiting 1 hour. The mechanic said that he had worked on the aircraft the night before, after being called by cabin cleaners about a stuck window. He said that he mounted the cam on the outside of the track and that tulsa told him to. He later changed his story, that he installed the cam inside the track and it operation checked okay. There is no way that the cam could jump the track since there is a cam and track directly above the lower cam. Additionally, no logbook entries were made of his work. Also, we had flown the aircraft in the night before and it worked fine. I talked with tulsa technician regarding the previous night's work and no logbook entries. This was not common practice. Lessons learned: very difficult to communicate with wind noise, abort if possible. Logbook entries must be made for all work. Open/close window on it, to avoid getting in trouble.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: F100 FLC HAS CAPT'S SLIDING WINDOW MALFUNCTION. RETURNS TO DEP ARPT.

Narrative: DEPARTING ELP, LOUD AIR NOISE CAME FROM CAPT'S SLIDING WINDOW. HELD OVERHEAD TO BURN DOWN TO MAX LNDG WT AND LANDED BACK AT ELP. AFTER LNDG, FOUND THE AFT LOWER CAM OF SLIDING WINDOW OUT OF THE TRACK. THE HANDLE COULD NOT BE MOVED AT ALL, YELLOW LINES MATCHED, AND THE HANDLE WAS FULL FORWARD AND LOCKED. ALSO FOUND FORWARD UPPER CAM SCREW LOOSE. 2 POSSIBILITIES CROSSED MY FO'S AND MY MIND: 1) POSSIBLE SABOTAGE, WHICH TURNED OUT NOT TO BE THE CASE. 2) SOMEONE FORCED THE WINDOW CLOSED AND WAS AFRAID TO RPT IT, TO AVOID GETTING IN TROUBLE, WHICH WASN'T THE CASE EITHER. WITH THESE CONCERNS, I CALLED FOR THE STATION MGR WHO WAS NOT THERE. THE FLT SVC SUPVR AND RAMP SUPVR CAME TO HEAR MY CONCERNS. THEY WERE VERY HELPFUL. CONTRACT MAINT ARRIVED AFTER WAITING 1 HR. THE MECH SAID THAT HE HAD WORKED ON THE ACFT THE NIGHT BEFORE, AFTER BEING CALLED BY CABIN CLEANERS ABOUT A STUCK WINDOW. HE SAID THAT HE MOUNTED THE CAM ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE TRACK AND THAT TULSA TOLD HIM TO. HE LATER CHANGED HIS STORY, THAT HE INSTALLED THE CAM INSIDE THE TRACK AND IT OP CHKED OKAY. THERE IS NO WAY THAT THE CAM COULD JUMP THE TRACK SINCE THERE IS A CAM AND TRACK DIRECTLY ABOVE THE LOWER CAM. ADDITIONALLY, NO LOGBOOK ENTRIES WERE MADE OF HIS WORK. ALSO, WE HAD FLOWN THE ACFT IN THE NIGHT BEFORE AND IT WORKED FINE. I TALKED WITH TULSA TECHNICIAN REGARDING THE PREVIOUS NIGHT'S WORK AND NO LOGBOOK ENTRIES. THIS WAS NOT COMMON PRACTICE. LESSONS LEARNED: VERY DIFFICULT TO COMMUNICATE WITH WIND NOISE, ABORT IF POSSIBLE. LOGBOOK ENTRIES MUST BE MADE FOR ALL WORK. OPEN/CLOSE WINDOW ON IT, TO AVOID GETTING IN TROUBLE.

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.