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A B737-300 aircraft flight crew discharged APU fire bottle due to APU fire 'T' handle red light came on after circuit breaker activated. MEL did not reference red light always 'on'.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 734908 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200704 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801 To 2400 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | airport : zzz.airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Operator | common carrier : air carrier |
| Make Model Name | B737-300 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | ground : taxi |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Affiliation | company : air carrier |
| Function | other personnel other |
| ASRS Report | 734908 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | aircraft equipment problem : critical maintenance problem : improper documentation non adherence : published procedure non adherence : far |
| Independent Detector | other other : 1 |
| Resolutory Action | none taken : detected after the fact |
| Consequence | other |
| Factors | |
| Maintenance | contributing factor : briefing performance deficiency : logbook entry performance deficiency : non compliance with legal requirements |
| Supplementary | |
| Problem Areas | Flight Crew Human Performance Maintenance Human Performance Aircraft Company |
| Primary Problem | Maintenance Human Performance |
Narrative:
A mechanic called me stating that the APU on aircraft X was being used with the detection circuit breaker collared. I told him they should not be using it. I pulled up the MEL and it said APU detection inoperative light inoperative. I told him that under MEL the detection inoperative light can be inoperative and extinguished; as long as the fire warning test is successful. He said he would check it out and I did not hear back from him. I concluded that it must have worked. The next day I find out that the aircraft gate returned for an APU fire warning alarm and blew the bottles. Since then I have also found out that the original problem was not documented correctly. The fire warning was going off intermittently. If the logbook would have had the correct discrepancy wrote up; this would have never happened.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A B737-300 ACFT FLT CREW DISCHARGED APU FIRE BOTTLE DUE TO APU FIRE 'T' HANDLE RED LIGHT CAME ON AFTER CIRCUIT BREAKER ACTIVATED. MEL DID NOT REFERENCE RED LIGHT ALWAYS 'ON'.
Narrative: A MECH CALLED ME STATING THAT THE APU ON ACFT X WAS BEING USED WITH THE DETECTION CIRCUIT BREAKER COLLARED. I TOLD HIM THEY SHOULD NOT BE USING IT. I PULLED UP THE MEL AND IT SAID APU DETECTION INOP LIGHT INOP. I TOLD HIM THAT UNDER MEL THE DETECTION INOP LIGHT CAN BE INOP AND EXTINGUISHED; AS LONG AS THE FIRE WARNING TEST IS SUCCESSFUL. HE SAID HE WOULD CHK IT OUT AND I DID NOT HEAR BACK FROM HIM. I CONCLUDED THAT IT MUST HAVE WORKED. THE NEXT DAY I FIND OUT THAT THE ACFT GATE RETURNED FOR AN APU FIRE WARNING ALARM AND BLEW THE BOTTLES. SINCE THEN I HAVE ALSO FOUND OUT THAT THE ORIGINAL PROB WAS NOT DOCUMENTED CORRECTLY. THE FIRE WARNING WAS GOING OFF INTERMITTENTLY. IF THE LOGBOOK WOULD HAVE HAD THE CORRECT DISCREPANCY WROTE UP; THIS WOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of January 2009 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.