An A320 captain reported a tire cut which he deemed required a tire change. A mechanic said the cut ...

Narrative:

Number 1 main landing gear (medium large transport) tire previously deferred. Preflight revealed an additional deep puncture in same tire. Weather was 10 KTS gusting to 25 KTS crosswind and cold. Crew requested a tire change. Maintenance refused; stating that it was deferrable and that it was cold and crew should 'go fly their airplane.' mechanic repeatedly barged into cockpit; interrupting captain's PA where we were actually commending the superior quality of our maintenance personnel. Mechanic made disparaging comments about the announcement and told captain that they would not address requested maintenance with out a refusal meter from dispatch. All actions up to including the stated demand for a 'refusal meter' in order to accomplishing the requested work can only be classed as pilot pushing. There is no far or fom requirement for a 'refusal' to obtain flight crew deemed necessary maintenance. Furthermore; the abusive tone and interruptions in front of the passengers and in my personal workspace was highly inappropriate. A follow on call was placed to FOD; with his assistance; a plane change was accomplished following an unnecessary 1 hour delay.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An A320 Captain reported a tire cut which he deemed required a tire change. A Mechanic said the cut was MEL'ed and acceptable. The Captain refused the aircraft and so required an aircraft change.

Narrative: Number 1 Main Landing Gear (MLG) tire previously deferred. Preflight revealed an additional deep puncture in same tire. Weather was 10 KTS gusting to 25 KTS crosswind and cold. Crew requested a tire change. Maintenance refused; stating that it was deferrable and that it was cold and crew should 'go fly their airplane.' Mechanic repeatedly barged into cockpit; interrupting Captain's PA where we were actually commending the superior quality of our Maintenance Personnel. Mechanic made disparaging comments about the announcement and told Captain that they would not address requested maintenance with out a refusal meter from Dispatch. All actions up to including the stated demand for a 'refusal meter' in order to accomplishing the requested work can only be classed as pilot pushing. There is no FAR or FOM requirement for a 'refusal' to obtain flight crew deemed necessary maintenance. Furthermore; the abusive tone and interruptions in front of the passengers and in my personal workspace was highly inappropriate. A follow on call was placed to FOD; with his assistance; a plane change was accomplished following an unnecessary 1 hour delay.

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	922569
Time
Date	201012
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Dusk
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	A320
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 119
Flight Phase	Parked
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Main Gear Tire
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 50 Flight Crew Total 23000 Flight Crew Type 6600
Person 2
Function	Technician
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

An A320 captain reported a tire cut which he deemed required a tire change. A mechanic said the cut was MEL'ed and acceptable. The captain refused the aircraft and so required an aircraft change.