Narrative:

The aircraft was in the final steps of troubleshooting and testing on an upgraded sat com (satellite communication) system with a micro flight data recorder feature. This system was installed as a replacement to a prior system to meet the requirements of far part 135.607 for air ambulance operations. The interior was in a state of removal with wire harnesses and connectors in final assembly. Management informed us that the aircraft was needed for a flight in 3 hrs as they had scheduled three med team transport with only two other aircraft available. Management was advised that reassembly and a ground / flight test were required by the sat com stc (supplemental type certificate) instructions to perform an 'EMI (electromagnetic interference) test' and operational check of the system. It was decided to reinstall the interior and do the testing prior to use as an 'air ambulance'. I generated a log entry for the purpose of the maintenance check flight with the system operational to document the required ground and inflight test procedures. I returned to the aircraft and was informed that the flight for the med team flight had been moved up and there was not enough time for the test. It would have to be completed on the next day. I secured power to the sat com system by zip tying the circuit breaker in a deactivated position.the consequences of the flight; the aircraft did not meet the part 135 air ambulance requirement by the flight data recorder system being inop. Management was aware of this; but continue to operate the aircraft in this configuration.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Maintenance Technician reported that aircraft was operated without legally required flight data recorder.

Narrative: The aircraft was in the final steps of troubleshooting and testing on an upgraded Sat Com (Satellite Communication) system with a micro flight data recorder feature. This system was installed as a replacement to a prior system to meet the requirements of FAR Part 135.607 for Air Ambulance Operations. The interior was in a state of removal with wire harnesses and connectors in final assembly. Management informed us that the aircraft was needed for a flight in 3 hrs as they had scheduled three med team transport with only two other aircraft available. Management was advised that reassembly and a ground / flight test were required by the Sat Com STC (Supplemental Type Certificate) instructions to perform an 'EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) test' and operational check of the system. It was decided to reinstall the interior and do the testing prior to use as an 'air ambulance'. I generated a log entry for the purpose of the maintenance check flight with the system operational to document the required ground and inflight test procedures. I returned to the aircraft and was informed that the flight for the med team flight had been moved up and there was not enough time for the test. It would have to be completed on the next day. I secured power to the sat com system by zip tying the circuit breaker in a deactivated position.The consequences of the flight; the aircraft did not meet the Part 135 Air Ambulance requirement by the flight data recorder system being inop. Management was aware of this; but continue to operate the aircraft in this configuration.

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.