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An airbus captain expresses concern about dispatching the aircraft with 1 air conditioning pack inoperative from a maintenance station.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 596590 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200310 |
| Day | Mon |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201 To 1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | airport : zzz.airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Altitude | agl single value : 0 |
| Environment | |
| Weather Elements | Turbulence other |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Controlling Facilities | artcc : zzz.artcc |
| Operator | common carrier : air carrier |
| Make Model Name | A319 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | cruise : level cruise : enroute altitude change |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Affiliation | company : air carrier |
| Function | flight crew : captain oversight : pic |
| Qualification | pilot : atp |
| ASRS Report | 596590 |
| Person 2 | |
| Affiliation | company : air carrier |
| Function | flight crew : first officer |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | aircraft equipment problem : critical |
| Independent Detector | aircraft equipment other aircraft equipment : air conditioning pac other flight crewa other flight crewb |
| Resolutory Action | none taken : detected after the fact |
| Consequence | other other |
| Factors | |
| Maintenance | contributing factor : schedule pressure performance deficiency : fault isolation performance deficiency : repair |
| Supplementary | |
| Problem Areas | Maintenance Human Performance Weather Aircraft |
| Primary Problem | Aircraft |
Narrative:
Company should not dispatch an aircraft with a pack inoperative from a maintenance station. This aircraft has been flown over 3 days with pack #2 inoperative. All paperwork implied this is in compliance with FAA requirements, but good sense says this is a bad business decision. Departing with a pack inoperative restricts the A320/319 to a maximum altitude of FL310. This increases the exposure to turbulence problems, affecting the safety exposure to passenger and flight attendants. Flying eastbound causes extra work for ATC, as FL310 is not the recommended altitude for eastbound traffic. Therefore, we were given FL330 or FL290 as a needed option many times and obviously had to accept FL290 due to the MEL limitation, but that was often in the tops of clouds. We finally descended to FL250 to get below a cloud layer. This cost extra fuel usage. No one was injured on this flight, but extra fuel was used due to poor altitude options available. The passenger on this flight experienced a bumpier flight than they should have received.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: AN AIRBUS CAPT EXPRESSES CONCERN ABOUT DISPATCHING THE ACFT WITH 1 AIR CONDITIONING PACK INOP FROM A MAINT STATION.
Narrative: COMPANY SHOULD NOT DISPATCH AN ACFT WITH A PACK INOP FROM A MAINT STATION. THIS ACFT HAS BEEN FLOWN OVER 3 DAYS WITH PACK #2 INOP. ALL PAPERWORK IMPLIED THIS IS IN COMPLIANCE WITH FAA REQUIREMENTS, BUT GOOD SENSE SAYS THIS IS A BAD BUSINESS DECISION. DEPARTING WITH A PACK INOP RESTRICTS THE A320/319 TO A MAX ALT OF FL310. THIS INCREASES THE EXPOSURE TO TURB PROBS, AFFECTING THE SAFETY EXPOSURE TO PAX AND FLT ATTENDANTS. FLYING EBOUND CAUSES EXTRA WORK FOR ATC, AS FL310 IS NOT THE RECOMMENDED ALT FOR EBOUND TFC. THEREFORE, WE WERE GIVEN FL330 OR FL290 AS A NEEDED OPTION MANY TIMES AND OBVIOUSLY HAD TO ACCEPT FL290 DUE TO THE MEL LIMITATION, BUT THAT WAS OFTEN IN THE TOPS OF CLOUDS. WE FINALLY DSNDED TO FL250 TO GET BELOW A CLOUD LAYER. THIS COST EXTRA FUEL USAGE. NO ONE WAS INJURED ON THIS FLT, BUT EXTRA FUEL WAS USED DUE TO POOR ALT OPTIONS AVAILABLE. THE PAX ON THIS FLT EXPERIENCED A BUMPIER FLT THAN THEY SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED.
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.