Narrative:

I am writing this report to get some clarification as to weather or not a logbook write up should have been completed prior to our departure. The sequence of events are as follows: as we taxied into position and hold for departure; we noticed a gyro flag in the standby attitude indicator and the sai started to tumble. We were then cleared for takeoff but we told the controller that we had to taxi clear of the runway to take care of a maintenance issue. After we were clear of the runway; we consulted the MEL decision matrix; contacted maintenance control; and told them of the problem. Maintenance control asked us to check the circuit breaker. We found the circuit breaker in the normal 'in' position. We were then asked to pull and reset the breaker to see if power to the sai indicator would be restored. After resetting the breaker; power was restored; the gyro flag went away and the sai functioned normally. I asked maintenance control if I should write up the indicator and was told that it was not necessary and it was my choice to write it up or not. After a brief discussion with the first officer; I asked maintenance control again if the item should be written up in the logbook and was given the same response. In the interest of saving time; I chose to not write up the indicator and we proceeded to the runway for departure. The rest of the flight was uneventful and the sai functioned properly. The first officer and I started questioning the decision to not write up the event in the logbook and sign it off prior to our departure. After arriving; I called the assistant chief pilot on duty and expressed my concerns that I was unsure if I should have written up the sai and was told that we were not required to make a logbook entry; the taxi delay would not be given to the crew; and as far as he was concerned the issue was closed. Our doubts about the event still lingered however; and after talking to several other crewmembers that advised us to file a report; we decided to file a report to get clarification as to weather or not; in the FAA's view; pulling and reseting a circuit breaker as requested by maintenance is considered to be a 'maintenance action' and if a logbook entry would be required in this situation. Except for fuel pump or fuel pump control circuit breakers; the resetting of tripped circuit breakers is allowed one time; but how is the pulling and resetting of circuit breakers to troubleshoot malfunctioning equipment considered? To take it to the extreme; when I tap on an indicator light that is out to get it to shine again; do I have to write it up? The airplane told us that something was not working properly; but in the 757/767 fleet; electrical 'glitches' are common and the resetting of circuit breakers and/or equipment often restores proper operation. Where do I draw the line between 'tapping on gauges' to get them working again and logbook write-ups? Also; in our situation; once the circuit breaker was reset and the sai was functioning properly; no deferral was required. Maintenance control said we were good to go and no logbook entry was required but apparently; after talking to other crewmembers; the FAA does not see it the same way. In hindsight; even though maintenance control told us that it was not necessary; I feel as though I should have made a logbook entry to record the event if only to cover ourselves and to track the equipment. This 'grey area' between maintenance and the FAA needs to be spelled out with no ambiguity. Clear; concise guidance from the FAA and company to address logbook entries for issues of this type must be given to all crew members.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B757 flight crew questions whether pulling and reseting a circuit breaker at the request of maintenance; required a logbook entry.

Narrative: I am writing this report to get some clarification as to weather or not a logbook write up should have been completed prior to our departure. The sequence of events are as follows: As we taxied into position and hold for departure; we noticed a gyro flag in the Standby Attitude Indicator and the SAI started to tumble. We were then cleared for takeoff but we told the Controller that we had to taxi clear of the runway to take care of a maintenance issue. After we were clear of the runway; we consulted the MEL decision matrix; contacted Maintenance Control; and told them of the problem. Maintenance Control asked us to check the circuit breaker. We found the circuit breaker in the normal 'in' position. We were then asked to pull and reset the breaker to see if power to the SAI indicator would be restored. After resetting the breaker; power was restored; the gyro flag went away and the SAI functioned normally. I asked Maintenance Control if I should write up the indicator and was told that it was not necessary and it was my choice to write it up or not. After a brief discussion with the First Officer; I asked Maintenance Control again if the item should be written up in the Logbook and was given the same response. In the interest of saving time; I chose to not write up the indicator and we proceeded to the runway for departure. The rest of the flight was uneventful and the SAI functioned properly. The First Officer and I started questioning the decision to not write up the event in the logbook and sign it off prior to our departure. After arriving; I called the Assistant Chief Pilot on duty and expressed my concerns that I was unsure if I should have written up the SAI and was told that we were not required to make a logbook entry; the taxi delay would not be given to the crew; and as far as he was concerned the issue was closed. Our doubts about the event still lingered however; and after talking to several other crewmembers that advised us to file a report; we decided to file a report to get clarification as to weather or not; in the FAA's view; pulling and reseting a circuit breaker as requested by Maintenance is considered to be a 'maintenance action' and if a logbook entry would be required in this situation. Except for fuel pump or fuel pump control circuit breakers; the resetting of tripped circuit breakers is allowed one time; but how is the pulling and resetting of circuit breakers to troubleshoot malfunctioning equipment considered? To take it to the extreme; when I tap on an indicator light that is out to get it to shine again; do I have to write it up? The airplane told us that something was not working properly; but in the 757/767 fleet; electrical 'glitches' are common and the resetting of circuit breakers and/or equipment often restores proper operation. Where do I draw the line between 'tapping on gauges' to get them working again and logbook write-ups? Also; in our situation; once the circuit breaker was reset and the SAI was functioning properly; no deferral was required. Maintenance Control said we were good to go and no logbook entry was required but apparently; after talking to other crewmembers; the FAA does not see it the same way. In hindsight; even though Maintenance Control told us that it was not necessary; I feel as though I should have made a logbook entry to record the event if only to cover ourselves and to track the equipment. This 'Grey Area' between Maintenance and the FAA needs to be spelled out with no ambiguity. Clear; concise guidance from the FAA and Company to address logbook entries for issues of this type must be given to all crew members.

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.