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An air carrier B747 so operated an APU that was a 'deferred maintenance item.' he did this under his captain's and ground maintenance orders.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 339042 |
| Time | |
| Date | 199606 |
| Day | Sun |
| Local Time Of Day | 0001 To 0600 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | airport : lax |
| State Reference | CA |
| Altitude | agl bound lower : 0 agl bound upper : 0 |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Night |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Controlling Facilities | tower : z41 |
| Operator | common carrier : air carrier |
| Make Model Name | B747-C/F |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Navigation In Use | Other |
| Flight Phase | ground : parked ground other : taxi |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Affiliation | company : air carrier |
| Function | flight crew : second officer |
| Qualification | pilot : flight engineer pilot : instrument pilot : commercial |
| Experience | flight time last 90 days : 200 flight time total : 11000 |
| ASRS Report | 339042 |
| Person 2 | |
| Affiliation | company : air carrier |
| Function | flight crew : first officer |
| Qualification | pilot : commercial pilot : instrument |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | aircraft equipment problem : critical non adherence : far non adherence : published procedure other anomaly other |
| Independent Detector | other flight crewa other other : unspecified |
| Resolutory Action | none taken : anomaly accepted |
| Consequence | Other |
| Supplementary | |
| Primary Problem | Aircraft |
| Air Traffic Incident | Pilot Deviation |
Narrative:
I called in range to our lax station and told them that my APU was a deferred maintenance item and I needed ground power. The lax station said parking will be at spot X and no ground power was available. Then, maintenance called back and said they were aware of the APU oil leak and they instructed me to start the APU upon arrival at our parking spot. I then asked the captain if starting the APU at spot X under the request of maintenance would be ok, he said 'yes.' as we pulled into our parking spot, I preflted the oil qty before starting, which checked out ok, then started the APU. Awaiting crew members were very upset that I started the APU and said it would ground the airplane if the FAA were to discover a deferred maintenance item running APU. 20 mins later, ground power was established and the APU shut down. The airplane pushed back about 1 hour after our arrival for the next segment, with a new crew. I believe communication between maintenance and crew broke down, not realizing the severity of operating an aircraft system that is a deferred maintenance item.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: AN ACR B747 SO OPERATED AN APU THAT WAS A 'DEFERRED MAINT ITEM.' HE DID THIS UNDER HIS CAPT'S AND GND MAINT ORDERS.
Narrative: I CALLED IN RANGE TO OUR LAX STATION AND TOLD THEM THAT MY APU WAS A DEFERRED MAINT ITEM AND I NEEDED GND PWR. THE LAX STATION SAID PARKING WILL BE AT SPOT X AND NO GND PWR WAS AVAILABLE. THEN, MAINT CALLED BACK AND SAID THEY WERE AWARE OF THE APU OIL LEAK AND THEY INSTRUCTED ME TO START THE APU UPON ARR AT OUR PARKING SPOT. I THEN ASKED THE CAPT IF STARTING THE APU AT SPOT X UNDER THE REQUEST OF MAINT WOULD BE OK, HE SAID 'YES.' AS WE PULLED INTO OUR PARKING SPOT, I PREFLTED THE OIL QTY BEFORE STARTING, WHICH CHKED OUT OK, THEN STARTED THE APU. AWAITING CREW MEMBERS WERE VERY UPSET THAT I STARTED THE APU AND SAID IT WOULD GND THE AIRPLANE IF THE FAA WERE TO DISCOVER A DEFERRED MAINT ITEM RUNNING APU. 20 MINS LATER, GND PWR WAS ESTABLISHED AND THE APU SHUT DOWN. THE AIRPLANE PUSHED BACK ABOUT 1 HR AFTER OUR ARR FOR THE NEXT SEGMENT, WITH A NEW CREW. I BELIEVE COM BTWN MAINT AND CREW BROKE DOWN, NOT REALIZING THE SEVERITY OF OPERATING AN ACFT SYS THAT IS A DEFERRED MAINT ITEM.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.