Narrative:

Pilot pushing. We were scheduled to fly [a trans-atlantic flight]. When we arrived at the aircraft it had an MEL. This MEL has a restriction that [stated] 'takeoff on wet or cluttered runway not authorized'. The ATIS and tower were reporting damp runway. The weather was 6 degrees C; overcast with occasional mist and/or showers. As a crew we individually referenced the [company manual] definition of a wet runway and all came to the conclusion we could not depart under current conditions and would have to delay takeoff until the runway was dry.during this delay we received an ACARS message from dispatch 'the runway is damp not wet'. I made a sat call to dispatch and asked them why they sent this message. I was told that [the pilot manager on duty] had gotten involved with our flight and he determined we could depart with a damp runway reported. I asked to speak to [the pilot manager on duty].I asked [the pilot manager on duty] to read me the definition of a wet runway. He read [it; but] he left out the statement about damp runway conditions.when I questioned [the pilot manager on duty] he insisted we were legal to depart on a damp runway. All we needed to do was taxi out make a visual inspection and if we determined the runway was not covered by any standing water or was visibly wet we could depart on a damp runway. We did not depart. The flight eventually canceled. [The pilot manager on duty] was pushing us to make an unsafe takeoff in order to complete the schedule. This is unacceptable and [the pilot manager on duty] needs to be retrained.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B767 Captain reported he felt being pushed by a flight operations manager to takeoff on a damp runway in a manner prohibited by an MEL.

Narrative: PILOT PUSHING. We were scheduled to fly [a trans-Atlantic flight]. When we arrived at the aircraft it had an MEL. This MEL has a restriction that [stated] 'takeoff on wet or cluttered runway not authorized'. The ATIS and tower were reporting damp runway. The weather was 6 degrees C; overcast with occasional mist and/or showers. As a crew we individually referenced the [company manual] definition of a wet runway and all came to the conclusion we could not depart under current conditions and would have to delay takeoff until the runway was dry.During this delay we received an ACARS message from Dispatch 'the runway is damp not wet'. I made a SAT call to Dispatch and asked them why they sent this message. I was told that [the Pilot Manager on duty] had gotten involved with our flight and he determined we could depart with a damp runway reported. I asked to speak to [the Pilot Manager on duty].I asked [the Pilot Manager on duty] to read me the definition of a wet runway. He read [it; but] he left out the statement about damp runway conditions.When I questioned [the Pilot Manager on duty] he insisted we were legal to depart on a damp runway. All we needed to do was taxi out make a visual inspection and if we determined the runway was not covered by any standing water or was visibly wet we could depart on a damp runway. We did not depart. The flight eventually canceled. [The Pilot Manager on duty] was pushing us to make an unsafe takeoff in order to complete the schedule. This is unacceptable and [the Pilot Manager on duty] needs to be retrained.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.