B757 captain reported that after a passenger`s cell phone was dropped below the inaccessible floor l...

Narrative:

An inbound passenger dropped their cell phone and it fell below floor level behind a loose wall panel. The purser was able to see the phone approximately 6 feet below the aircraft floor. I entered a flight log item and advised customer service. Maintenance spotted the phone and determined they could not remove without major aircraft dis-assembly. Lead mechanic advised that they could defer removal legally and that was what they were doing. I called maintenance control and their initial response was the deferral is legal; we do it 'every day'; and that the FAA were the ones that approved it. Past and current information indicates cell phones can overheat and potentially burn at any time. The MEL entry allows three days to find and remove the phone. My concern is that we have a potential fire in an inaccessible location.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B757 Captain reported that after a passenger`s cell phone was dropped below the inaccessible floor level; maintenance MEL'd the event; and thus raising Captain's concerns about a potential fire.

Narrative: An inbound passenger dropped their cell phone and it fell below floor level behind a loose wall panel. The Purser was able to see the phone approximately 6 feet below the aircraft floor. I entered a flight log item and advised customer service. Maintenance spotted the phone and determined they could not remove without major aircraft dis-assembly. Lead mechanic advised that they could defer removal legally and that was what they were doing. I called Maintenance Control and their initial response was the deferral is legal; we do it 'every day'; and that the FAA were the ones that approved it. Past and current information indicates cell phones can overheat and potentially burn at any time. The MEL entry allows three days to find and remove the phone. My concern is that we have a potential fire in an inaccessible location.

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.

Attributes
ACN	1533344
Time
Date	201804
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B757 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Parked
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine
Experience	Flight Crew Total 9437 Flight Crew Type 1202
Events
Anomaly	Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown

B757 captain reported that after a passenger`s cell phone was dropped below the inaccessible floor level; maintenance MEL'd the event; and thus raising captain's concerns about a potential fire.