Narrative:

During the preflight inspection it came to my attention that an MEL that made the right thrust reverser inoperative was not complete per the contents of the MEL book. According to the text of the MEL the thrust reverser should have been disabled by installing pins to prevent the reverser from operating and this had not been accomplished by maintenance. After calling company maintenance they called contract maintenance to come out and complete the required actions of the MEL. In talking with the inbound captain of the aircraft I found out that maintenance had tried to repair the reverser but failed. But in the rush to get the aircraft ready for departure they forgot to reinstall the pins. The aircraft then flew a 4 hour flight.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: AN AIRBUS A320 WAS DISPATCHED WITH THE R REVERSER DEFERRED AS INOP PER THE MEL BUT WAS NOT LOCKED MECHANICALLY IN THE FORWARD THRUST POS.

Narrative: DURING THE PREFLT INSPECTION IT CAME TO MY ATTN THAT AN MEL THAT MADE THE R THRUST REVERSER INOP WAS NOT COMPLETE PER THE CONTENTS OF THE MEL BOOK. ACCORDING TO THE TEXT OF THE MEL THE THRUST REVERSER SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISABLED BY INSTALLING PINS TO PREVENT THE REVERSER FROM OPERATING AND THIS HAD NOT BEEN ACCOMPLISHED BY MAINT. AFTER CALLING COMPANY MAINT THEY CALLED CONTRACT MAINT TO COME OUT AND COMPLETE THE REQUIRED ACTIONS OF THE MEL. IN TALKING WITH THE INBOUND CAPT OF THE ACFT I FOUND OUT THAT MAINT HAD TRIED TO REPAIR THE REVERSER BUT FAILED. BUT IN THE RUSH TO GET THE ACFT READY FOR DEP THEY FORGOT TO REINSTALL THE PINS. THE ACFT THEN FLEW A 4 HR FLT.

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.