Narrative:

During preflight duties and while reviewing the flight paperwork the following MEL 28-01-3-2 item was noticed. After arrival at the aircraft and while performing normal preflight checks the first officer (first officer) noted the following FMC status message: 'afqgs - fail'. As the MEL item and this message were both related to fuel quantity I asked the first officer to contact aircraft maintenance for investigation and clarification as to the appropriateness of this message and the aircrafts' current status. Due to the fact that aircraft maintenance was working a number of different maintenance procedures related to the current MEL on the aircraft; along with another item I had placed in the logbook; it was not long before they came to the cockpit. During discussions with maintenance control (mc) which were overheard by us in the cockpit; we were told by maintenance control through the line personnel that the status message was a part of the current MEL on the fuel system and it was ok to proceed without further action by us or delay. Upon arrival in ZZZ1; both the first officer and myself wanted to check into this further because during the flight we began to think the answer we were given did not make sense. We pulled up and printed from the flight operations website the entire MEL procedure and read it fully. No where in this procedure did it verify the information we were given by ZZZ maintenance control. I immediately upon arrival at the aircraft put the item in the aircraft logbook; and reported it to ZZZ1 line maintenance. Immediately upon contacting ZZZ maintenance control (during the same shift cycle and presumably the same personnel) we were told by ZZZ1 line maintenance that the aircraft was grounded and was not airworthy; there was no relief under the current MEL or it's dmp procedure. In talking with the ZZZ1 maintenance supervisor; I asked about the earlier decision by ZZZ maintenance control to tell us what appeared at that moment to be a total falsehood in order to get the flight out; and his comment back to me was that he was not concerned with that and did not wish to discuss those details with me. The aircraft was ultimately grounded and the flight canceled. Subsequent to these events transpiring; a flight crewmember sitting reserve at the ZZZ1 gateway; contacted me and told me he overheard gateway management personnel talking about this issue; and that they had been told by ZZZ prior to our arrival of this problem and the instructions given to us to fly the aircraft out of ZZZ. They also overheard this person say that they were waiting to see if the flight crew put it in the logbook before saying anything about it. That to me in retrospect seems like a deliberate attempt by them to say nothing to rectify this problem unless we said something first; and continue to provide faulty guidance and compliance with the far's to insure the aircrafts airworthiness! Thankfully we were diligent in digging deeper into the problem and finding the discrepancy on our own. It is impossible to be an effective team member; and operate in a safe airline environment; when you cannot trust that when you ask for answers to safety related questions that you will be given full; complete and accurate answers to those questions. When I; as a line captain; ask a question I must have the full confidence that my questions will be answered truthfully and accurately at all times. If not then I have no recourse [but] to submit all queries and concerns to the logbook so that my questions will be answered in writing and for the record. Airline personnel must be made to understand the full implications to performing in a manner such as this. To continue to perform in such a reckless manner will only further erode that trust and place the safety of this airline fully in jeopardy. As for this captain; I can say but one thing; from this point forward I will no longer take any line maintenance; maintenance control; or other flight operations management personnel's 'word' or other personal assurances [as] adequate for assuring me of the airworthiness of an aircraft or other far compliance; without first putting all of my questions or concerns in the aircraft logbook. At that time they can assure me of their confidence and compliance by signing the logbook themselves and certifying it in writing.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Captain and First Officer report they unknowingly flew a MD-11 aircraft with an FMC status message: AFQGS-FAIL that was not covered under an existing fuel quantity MEL 28-01-3. Maintenance Control had assured them the item was included in the MEL. Both pilots question whether Maintenance Control acted in a deliberate manner to dispatch the aircraft.

Narrative: During preflight duties and while reviewing the flight paperwork the following MEL 28-01-3-2 item was noticed. After arrival at the aircraft and while performing normal preflight checks the First Officer (F/O) noted the following FMC Status Message: 'AFQGS - Fail'. As the MEL item and this message were both related to fuel quantity I asked the F/O to contact aircraft Maintenance for investigation and clarification as to the appropriateness of this message and the aircrafts' current status. Due to the fact that aircraft Maintenance was working a number of different maintenance procedures related to the current MEL on the aircraft; along with another item I had placed in the Logbook; it was not long before they came to the cockpit. During discussions with Maintenance Control (MC) which were overheard by us in the cockpit; we were told by Maintenance Control through the Line personnel that the status message was a part of the current MEL on the Fuel System and it was OK to proceed without further action by us or delay. Upon arrival in ZZZ1; both the F/O and myself wanted to check into this further because during the flight we began to think the answer we were given did not make sense. We pulled up and printed from the Flight Operations website the entire MEL procedure and read it fully. No where in this procedure did it verify the information we were given by ZZZ Maintenance Control. I immediately upon arrival at the aircraft put the item in the aircraft Logbook; and reported it to ZZZ1 Line Maintenance. Immediately upon contacting ZZZ Maintenance Control (during the same shift cycle and presumably the SAME personnel) we were told by ZZZ1 Line Maintenance that the aircraft was grounded and was not airworthy; there was no relief under the current MEL or it's DMP Procedure. In talking with the ZZZ1 Maintenance Supervisor; I asked about the earlier decision by ZZZ Maintenance Control to tell us what appeared at that moment to be a total falsehood in order to get the flight out; and his comment back to me was that he was not concerned with that and did not wish to discuss those details with me. The aircraft was ultimately grounded and the flight canceled. Subsequent to these events transpiring; a Flight Crewmember sitting Reserve at the ZZZ1 gateway; contacted me and told me he overheard gateway management personnel talking about this issue; and that they had been told by ZZZ prior to our arrival of this problem and the instructions given to us to fly the aircraft out of ZZZ. They also overheard this person say that they were waiting to see if the flight crew put it in the Logbook before saying anything about it. That to me in retrospect seems like a deliberate attempt by them to say nothing to rectify this problem unless we said something first; and continue to provide faulty guidance and compliance with the FAR's to insure the aircrafts airworthiness! Thankfully we were diligent in digging deeper into the problem and finding the discrepancy on our own. It is impossible to be an effective team member; and operate in a safe airline environment; when you cannot trust that when you ask for answers to safety related questions that you will be given full; complete and accurate answers to those questions. When I; as a Line Captain; ask a question I must have the full confidence that my questions will be answered truthfully and accurately at all times. If not then I have no recourse [but] to submit all queries and concerns to the Logbook so that my questions will be answered in writing and for the record. Airline personnel must be made to understand the full implications to performing in a manner such as this. To continue to perform in such a reckless manner will only further erode that trust and place the safety of this airline fully in jeopardy. As for this Captain; I can say but one thing; from this point forward I will no longer take any Line Maintenance; Maintenance Control; or other flight Operations management personnel's 'word' or other personal assurances [as] adequate for assuring me of the airworthiness of an aircraft or other FAR compliance; without first putting all of my questions or concerns in the aircraft Logbook. At that time they can assure me of their confidence and compliance by signing the logbook themselves and certifying it in writing.

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.