The 'O' ring on an EMB170's 'T' fire handle disintegrated as the captain touched and examined it bec...

Attributes
ACN	969954
Time
Date	201109
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	EMB ERJ 170/175 ER&LR
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Parked
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Powerplant Fire Extinguishing
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

Narrative:

I flew this aircraft two legs. While preparing the cockpit for departure the third leg I noticed the fire T handle O ring looked compromised. With a slight touch of my finger the O ring literally disintegrated. Subsequently; I entered the maintenance irregularity into the flight log. Apparently at times; simply a visual inspection is not enough to determine the integrity of such items like a rubber O ring.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: The 'O' Ring on an EMB170's 'T' Fire Handle disintegrated as the Captain touched and examined it because it appeared compromised.

Narrative: I flew this aircraft two legs. While preparing the cockpit for departure the third leg I noticed the fire T handle O ring looked compromised. With a slight touch of my finger the O ring literally disintegrated. Subsequently; I entered the maintenance irregularity into the flight log. Apparently at times; simply a visual inspection is not enough to determine the integrity of such items like a rubber O ring.

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.

The 'O' ring on an EMB170's 'T' fire handle disintegrated as the captain touched and examined it because it appeared compromised.