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Mechanic found twelve consecutive; loose (pulled) rivets on a B767-300 engine core cowl. Deferral was not allowed; cowl had to be repaired or replaced.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1053644 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201212 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | B767-300 and 300 ER |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Parked |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Cowling/Nacelle Fasteners Latches |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Technician |
| Qualification | Maintenance Airframe Maintenance Powerplant |
| Experience | Maintenance Technician 25 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Deviation - Procedural FAR |
Narrative:
I was assigned domestic trips today. At the start of the shift a fellow mechanic asked me to swap assignments with him; since he had work-related injuries which would make oiling difficult for him. I agreed and oiled a B767-300 aircraft. While oiling the B767; I noticed pulled rivets on the right engine core cowl. I documented the item in the logbook. Upon arrival back to the maintenance office; I was immediately approached by supervisor X. He notified me that my assignment was changed back to working domestic trips. Supervisor X explained 'we can't have you oiling.' I reminded supervisor X that mechanics constantly swap assignments amongst themselves without an argument from management. He again repeated 'we can't have you oiling.' the B767 aircraft eventually went 'out of service' for the pulled rivets. By deliberately keeping me from oiling; management is sending the message that oilers (mechanics) need to look the other way when they observe airworthy items. Any qualified airframe/powerplant (a/P) mechanic should be allowed to oil. For the sake of a safest possible air transport system; management should be promoting its oilers to document all obvious discrepancies on their aging fleet.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Mechanic found twelve consecutive; loose (pulled) rivets on a B767-300 engine core cowl. Deferral was not allowed; cowl had to be repaired or replaced.
Narrative: I was assigned domestic trips today. At the start of the shift a fellow Mechanic asked me to swap assignments with him; since he had work-related injuries which would make oiling difficult for him. I agreed and oiled a B767-300 aircraft. While oiling the B767; I noticed pulled rivets on the Right Engine Core Cowl. I documented the item in the Logbook. Upon arrival back to the Maintenance Office; I was immediately approached by Supervisor X. He notified me that my assignment was changed back to working domestic trips. Supervisor X explained 'We can't have you oiling.' I reminded Supervisor X that mechanics constantly swap assignments amongst themselves without an argument from Management. He again repeated 'We can't have you oiling.' The B767 aircraft eventually went 'Out of Service' for the pulled rivets. By deliberately keeping me from oiling; Management is sending the message that oilers (mechanics) need to look the other way when they observe airworthy items. Any qualified Airframe/Powerplant (A/P) Mechanic should be allowed to oil. For the sake of a safest possible air transport system; Management should be promoting its oilers to document all obvious discrepancies on their aging fleet.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 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.