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B737-800 captain reported refusing to accept an aircraft with one operating generator in operations outside the contiguous 48 states.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1515069 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201801 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | MIA.Airport |
| State Reference | FL |
| Environment | |
| Light | Night |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | B737-800 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Parked |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Generator Drive |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Procedural MEL Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy |
Narrative:
This flight had APU bleed inop. Prior to pushback noticed the number 2 drive light illuminated. Called maintenance and advised I wanted the drive light placarded by MEL - drive light inop. Easy fix and allowed me to keep the generator working. Crew placarding was not allowed. Maintenance; after a lengthy delay; without discussion with me; decided to use [a different] MEL; which would disconnect the number 2 generator. I refused the aircraft for 2 reasons.1. [The MEL] requires the APU (the APU had at least one known; placarded malfunction; bleed air inop) to power the #2 bus; and would dictate an immediate emergency landing if the APU quit.2. [The MEL] also said the flight was not to be operated outside the contiguous 48 united states to central/south america.we finally left with my originally requested MEL placard. Maintenance and dispatch take the very liberal interpretation that outside the contiguous 48 anywhere but central/south america is ok i.e. The caribbean is ok. I vehemently disagree for a multitude of reasons. This needs to be specifically verified by the FAA. In the MEL preamble it is very ambiguous as to this issue. As long as this wording exists without specific clarification; I will not accept aircraft outside the contiguous 48 to any location with this MEL limitation/wording.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: B737-800 Captain reported refusing to accept an aircraft with one operating generator in operations outside the contiguous 48 states.
Narrative: This flight had APU bleed inop. Prior to pushback noticed the number 2 DRIVE light illuminated. Called Maintenance and advised I wanted the drive light placarded by MEL - drive light inop. Easy fix and allowed me to keep the generator working. Crew placarding was not allowed. Maintenance; after a lengthy delay; without discussion with me; decided to use [a different] MEL; which would disconnect the number 2 generator. I refused the aircraft for 2 reasons.1. [The MEL] requires the APU (the APU had at least one known; placarded malfunction; bleed air inop) to power the #2 bus; and would dictate an immediate emergency landing if the APU quit.2. [The MEL] also said the flight was not to be operated outside the contiguous 48 United States to Central/South America.We finally left with my originally requested MEL placard. Maintenance and Dispatch take the very liberal interpretation that outside the contiguous 48 anywhere but Central/South America is ok i.e. the Caribbean is ok. I vehemently disagree for a multitude of reasons. This needs to be specifically verified by the FAA. In the MEL preamble it is very ambiguous as to this issue. As long as this wording exists without specific clarification; I will not accept aircraft outside the contiguous 48 to ANY location with this MEL limitation/wording.
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.