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A320 captain indicates an aircraft was operated for 34 days without finding out why an air leak blowout door was found open at the completion of each flight.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 559815 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200209 |
| Day | Mon |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601 To 1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | airport : zzz.airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Altitude | agl single value : 0 |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Operator | common carrier : air carrier |
| Make Model Name | A320 |
| 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 |
| Experience | flight time last 90 days : 100 flight time total : 11700 flight time type : 3124 |
| ASRS Report | 559815 |
| Person 2 | |
| Affiliation | company : air carrier |
| Function | maintenance : lead technician oversight : supervisor |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | aircraft equipment problem : critical maintenance problem : non compliance with mel maintenance problem : improper maintenance maintenance problem : improper documentation non adherence : far non adherence : company policies non adherence : published procedure other anomaly other |
| Independent Detector | aircraft equipment other aircraft equipment : blowout door open other flight crewa |
| Resolutory Action | none taken : anomaly accepted other |
| Consequence | other other |
| Factors | |
| Maintenance | contributing factor : schedule pressure performance deficiency : repair performance deficiency : non compliance with legal requirements performance deficiency : fault isolation performance deficiency : logbook entry |
| Supplementary | |
| Problem Areas | Company Maintenance Human Performance Aircraft |
| Primary Problem | Company |
Narrative:
On aug/mon/02, I operated flight #1 ord-mci. Upon arrival mci, we were notified of an open door on bottom of airplane. Checked and found the blowout door open between the 2 pack air inlets. Log entry made and FBO signed off with note no leaks found. On sep/mon/02, I was assigned to fly flight #2 ord-las, aircraft abcd. Walkaround inspection revealed blowout door open. 'Amis' review with maintenance manual supervisor showed that this item had been reported and signed off numerous times in the intervening period. Maintenance controller had generated a callout to replace the door springs. The parts were at location X. I refused to fly aircraft abcd. A maintenance entry can be found on sep/wed/02 stating that line maintenance replaced the #1 heat exchanger access door. Aircraft abcd operated from aug/mon/02 to sep/mon/02 in an unairworthy condition. My first and obvious concern is the pencil whipping of this condition. My second concern is how can a maintenance release document be generated when maintenance controller has been generated to fix an item which is 'not' in the MEL!
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A320 CAPT INDICATES AN ACFT WAS OPERATED FOR 34 DAYS WITHOUT FINDING OUT WHY AN AIR LEAK BLOWOUT DOOR WAS FOUND OPEN AT THE COMPLETION OF EACH FLT.
Narrative: ON AUG/MON/02, I OPERATED FLT #1 ORD-MCI. UPON ARR MCI, WE WERE NOTIFIED OF AN OPEN DOOR ON BOTTOM OF AIRPLANE. CHKED AND FOUND THE BLOWOUT DOOR OPEN BTWN THE 2 PACK AIR INLETS. LOG ENTRY MADE AND FBO SIGNED OFF WITH NOTE NO LEAKS FOUND. ON SEP/MON/02, I WAS ASSIGNED TO FLY FLT #2 ORD-LAS, ACFT ABCD. WALKAROUND INSPECTION REVEALED BLOWOUT DOOR OPEN. 'AMIS' REVIEW WITH MAINT MANUAL SUPVR SHOWED THAT THIS ITEM HAD BEEN RPTED AND SIGNED OFF NUMEROUS TIMES IN THE INTERVENING PERIOD. MAINT CTLR HAD GENERATED A CALLOUT TO REPLACE THE DOOR SPRINGS. THE PARTS WERE AT LOCATION X. I REFUSED TO FLY ACFT ABCD. A MAINT ENTRY CAN BE FOUND ON SEP/WED/02 STATING THAT LINE MAINT REPLACED THE #1 HEAT EXCHANGER ACCESS DOOR. ACFT ABCD OPERATED FROM AUG/MON/02 TO SEP/MON/02 IN AN UNAIRWORTHY CONDITION. MY FIRST AND OBVIOUS CONCERN IS THE PENCIL WHIPPING OF THIS CONDITION. MY SECOND CONCERN IS HOW CAN A MAINT RELEASE DOCUMENT BE GENERATED WHEN MAINT CTLR HAS BEEN GENERATED TO FIX AN ITEM WHICH IS 'NOT' IN THE MEL!
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.