Narrative:

After departure during the initial climb out the rud press caution light illuminated. We opened the emergency checklist and performed the one action which was to maintain a speed not to exceed 200 KTS. After a brief discussion the captain and I made the decision to return. We did not declare an emergency; but notified ATC that we were going to return for landing. After accomplishing a safe landing and deplaning the passengers dispatch and maintenance were called and the write up placed into the log. We noticed that this airplane has a history in the past several days of hydraulic issues. The mechanic had not yet had a chance to inspect the airplane before dispatch called and informed them that the airplane would be MEL'd and returned to service. Because of the history with the airplane the captain and I asked for further guidance on the issue. The chief pilots should not be allowed to threaten pilots into flying aircraft. If at a later date and time a decision is made to revisit the situation and discuss disciplinary action then so be it. But when a safety of flight decision is being made the chief pilots should not be offering threats to force pilots to fly an aircraft that may not be safe. With all the circumstances involved in the situation the problem could have been air in the system; an air data computer malfunction; an indication error or the rudder pressure regulator valve malfunctioning. With all of this uncertainty the crew was only trying to get reliable information on which to base a decision.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Dash 8 flight crew experienced a RUD PRESS Caution Light after departure and elected to return. Maintenance elected to defer the repair using MEL 27-12-1 but the crew was reluctant to accept the aircraft due to a history of hydraulic problems.

Narrative: After departure during the initial climb out the RUD Press Caution Light illuminated. We opened the emergency checklist and performed the one action which was to maintain a speed not to exceed 200 KTS. After a brief discussion the Captain and I made the decision to return. We did not declare an emergency; but notified ATC that we were going to return for landing. After accomplishing a safe landing and deplaning the passengers Dispatch and Maintenance were called and the write up placed into the Log. We noticed that this airplane has a history in the past several days of hydraulic issues. The mechanic had not yet had a chance to inspect the airplane before dispatch called and informed them that the airplane would be MEL'd and returned to service. Because of the history with the airplane the captain and I asked for further guidance on the issue. The chief pilots should not be allowed to threaten pilots into flying aircraft. If at a later date and time a decision is made to revisit the situation and discuss disciplinary action then so be it. But when a safety of flight decision is being made the Chief Pilots should not be offering threats to force pilots to fly an aircraft that may not be safe. With all the circumstances involved in the situation the problem could have been air in the system; an ADC malfunction; an indication error or the rudder pressure regulator valve malfunctioning. With all of this uncertainty the crew was only trying to get reliable information on which to base a decision.

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.