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A CL65's right engine fire bottle was installed but the discharge hose was not connected to the bottle so the squib tested properly but the discharge button on the glare shield did not illuminate during test.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 929304 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201101 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Dawn |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Regional Jet CL65 Undifferentiated or Other Model |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Parked |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Powerplant Fire Extinguishing |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Not Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 200 Flight Crew Total 7500 Flight Crew Type 5000 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Deviation - Procedural Maintenance |
Narrative:
During my first flight of the day checklist when I did the fire test I noticed that everything worked properly except the right-hand engine bottle press to discharge button on the glare shield would not illuminate. I figured it was probably a burned out light bulb; because the right-hand engine squibs tested properly and the right-hand fire warning; right-hand sov caution; and right-hand fire fail caution all tested correctly. There were also not any messages stating the bottle was low or that the bottle had been discharged. I called maintenance; they also assumed it was a light bulb and called out contract maintenance. The mechanic changed the light bulbs; which did not fix the problem. Then he changed out the whole switch; which again did not fix the problem. After hours of confusion as to what this might be; the mechanic went back and checked the actual bottles on the engine. He found out that when the right-hand engine bottle was installed; the hose to discharge the agent was never connected. He also showed me that it did not come disconnected; it was truly never installed; because a plastic shipping cap was still on the bottle. Upon connecting the hose the 'light' tested correctly; however due to other maintenance issues on the aircraft (outboard brake accumulator) the flight was canceled and ferried for repairs. This is a little disturbing that the proper installation of the bottle can be missed like this. If there was an engine fire I would have only had one bottle to put out the fire. I am also a little confused that the only way you would know that the bottle in correctly connected is by a light bulb on the glare shield with absolutely no additional indications. I will continue to be observant of the glare shield lights; so I do not take off with a situation like this.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A CL65's right engine fire bottle was installed but the discharge hose was not connected to the bottle so the squib tested properly but the discharge button on the glare shield did not illuminate during test.
Narrative: During my first flight of the day checklist when I did the fire test I noticed that everything worked properly except the right-hand engine bottle press to discharge button on the glare shield would not illuminate. I figured it was probably a burned out light bulb; because the right-hand engine squibs tested properly and the right-hand fire warning; right-hand SOV caution; and right-hand fire fail caution all tested correctly. There were also not any messages stating the bottle was low or that the bottle had been discharged. I called Maintenance; they also assumed it was a light bulb and called out Contract Maintenance. The Mechanic changed the light bulbs; which did not fix the problem. Then he changed out the whole switch; which again did not fix the problem. After hours of confusion as to what this might be; the Mechanic went back and checked the actual bottles on the engine. He found out that when the right-hand engine bottle was installed; the hose to discharge the agent was never connected. He also showed me that it did NOT come disconnected; it was truly NEVER installed; because a plastic shipping cap was still on the bottle. Upon connecting the hose the 'light' tested correctly; however due to other maintenance issues on the aircraft (outboard brake accumulator) the flight was canceled and ferried for repairs. This is a little disturbing that the proper installation of the bottle can be missed like this. If there was an engine fire I would have only had one bottle to put out the fire. I am also a little confused that the ONLY way you would know that the bottle in correctly connected is by a light bulb on the glare shield with absolutely no additional indications. I will continue to be observant of the glare shield lights; so I do not take off with a situation like this.
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.