Narrative:

After I reviewed L1 cabin entry door deferral I contacted the dispatcher requesting clarification on limitation section of MEL which requires two life rafts to be on board for overwater flights. Maintenance control advised that manual emergency operation of the L1 cabin entry door via the girt bar would still deploy the slide/life raft and therefore satisfied the MEL requirement for a second life raft to be on board. In addition; dispatch contacted the on-duty MD11 chief pilot who agreed with maintenance control that the MEL was properly referenced and all associated limitations were met for our flight. We then departed. After being airborne a little over an hour we received an ACARS message instructing us to return to the departure airport. A maintenance control supervisor advised that the L1 cabin entry door/slide should have been deferred entirely. Our aircraft was unauthorized for overwater flight. We returned and dumped approximately 35;000 pounds of fuel in order to land below max allowable landing weight.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Despite the approval of Dispatchers; Maintenance personnel; and a Chief Pilot regarding a confusing MEL procedure; the flight crew of an MD11 was instructed to do an air turnback when a Maintenance Supervisor determined they were all wrong and the aircraft was not legal for flight.

Narrative: After I Reviewed L1 Cabin Entry Door deferral I contacted the Dispatcher requesting clarification on limitation section of MEL which requires two life rafts to be on board for overwater flights. Maintenance Control advised that manual emergency operation of the L1 Cabin Entry Door via the girt bar would still deploy the slide/life raft and therefore satisfied the MEL requirement for a second life raft to be on board. In addition; Dispatch contacted the on-duty MD11 Chief Pilot who agreed with Maintenance Control that the MEL was properly referenced and all associated limitations were met for our flight. We then departed. After being airborne a little over an hour we received an ACARS message instructing us to return to the departure airport. A Maintenance Control Supervisor advised that the L1 Cabin Entry Door/Slide should have been deferred entirely. Our aircraft was unauthorized for overwater flight. We returned and dumped approximately 35;000 pounds of fuel in order to land below max allowable landing weight.

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.