B737-300 captain reports maintenance falsely reported a log book discrepancy as having been repaired...

Narrative:

Purser notified me that an armrest was broken and drooping down. I wrote up the discrepancy at 25 minutes prior to departure; and informed maintenance of the write-up. 7 minutes later; I received a new release stating that the armrest had been replaced and the release verify function showed this to be a current and valid release. When the agent came to close the door; the purser advised me that no mechanic had been on board. I walked back to the seat in question and found that nothing had been done to the armrest -- the mechanic had simply signed if off as fixed and did not even come up to look at the seat. I called the maintenance control on the landline and informed them of what had occurred and a report would be filed. A mechanic finally showed up and decided to defer the armrest then sent us another release. With the work actually done right; we departed. Signing off work that has not been accomplished can be a dangerous practice; particularly if you say it's been fixed. On-time performance is one thing; but I thought safety trumped all. It did not in this case. I have all the relevant documents (first write-up; bogus release stating replaced armrest; and final deferring the write-up); and will turn them over if needed to investigate.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737-300 Captain reports Maintenance falsely reported a log book discrepancy as having been repaired. After refusing the false Maintenance Release; a Technician defers the item.

Narrative: Purser notified me that an armrest was broken and drooping down. I wrote up the discrepancy at 25 minutes prior to departure; and informed maintenance of the write-up. 7 minutes later; I received a new release stating that the armrest had been replaced and the release verify function showed this to be a current and valid release. When the Agent came to close the door; the Purser advised me that no Mechanic had been on board. I walked back to the seat in question and found that nothing had been done to the armrest -- the Mechanic had simply signed if off as fixed and did not even come up to look at the seat. I called the Maintenance Control on the landline and informed them of what had occurred and a report would be filed. A Mechanic finally showed up and decided to defer the armrest then sent us another release. With the work actually done right; we departed. Signing off work that has not been accomplished can be a dangerous practice; particularly if you say it's been fixed. On-time performance is one thing; but I thought safety trumped all. It did not in this case. I have all the relevant documents (first write-up; bogus release stating replaced armrest; and final deferring the write-up); and will turn them over if needed to investigate.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.

Attributes
ACN	820877
Time
Date	200901
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ORD.Airport
State Reference	IL
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B737-300
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Parked
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Pax Seat
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 200 Flight Crew Total 11500 Flight Crew Type 5180
Person 2
Function	Flight Attendant (On Duty)
Qualification	Flight Attendant Current
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Maintenance Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

B737-300 captain reports maintenance falsely reported a log book discrepancy as having been repaired. After refusing the false maintenance release; a technician defers the item.