A B757-200 was dispatched with an open and unanswered maintenance item report.

Attributes
ACN	654841
Time
Date	200504
Local Time Of Day	1201 To 1800
Place
Locale Reference	airport : zzz.airport
State Reference	US
Aircraft 1
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	B757-200
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	ground : maintenance
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	maintenance : technician
Qualification	technician : airframe technician : powerplant
ASRS Report	654841
Person 2
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	maintenance : technician oversight : coordinator
Events
Anomaly	aircraft equipment problem : less severe maintenance problem : improper documentation maintenance problem : improper maintenance maintenance problem : non compliance with mel non adherence : published procedure non adherence : far
Independent Detector	other other : 2
Resolutory Action	none taken : detected after the fact
Consequence	other
Factors
Maintenance	contributing factor : schedule pressure contributing factor : manuals performance deficiency : repair performance deficiency : logbook entry performance deficiency : non compliance with legal requirements
Supplementary
Problem Areas	Environmental Factor Chart Or Publication Aircraft Maintenance Human Performance
Primary Problem	Maintenance Human Performance

Narrative:

Mechanic discovered r-hand wingtip position light inoperative based on information contained in a follow-up log page (used for tracking and troubleshooting chronic discrepancies). He re-lamped the r-hand white wing position light; but it did not correct the problem. He updated the follow-up log entry and released the aircraft to service without deferring the inoperative lamp in accordance with the MEL. Maintenance control discovered the error and opened a discrepancy log indicating deferral in accordance with the MEL.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B757-200 WAS DISPATCHED WITH AN OPEN AND UNANSWERED MAINT ITEM RPT.

Narrative: MECH DISCOVERED R-HAND WINGTIP POS LIGHT INOP BASED ON INFO CONTAINED IN A FOLLOW-UP LOG PAGE (USED FOR TRACKING AND TROUBLESHOOTING CHRONIC DISCREPANCIES). HE RE-LAMPED THE R-HAND WHITE WING POS LIGHT; BUT IT DID NOT CORRECT THE PROB. HE UPDATED THE FOLLOW-UP LOG ENTRY AND RELEASED THE ACFT TO SVC WITHOUT DEFERRING THE INOP LAMP IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE MEL. MAINT CTL DISCOVERED THE ERROR AND OPENED A DISCREPANCY LOG INDICATING DEFERRAL IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE MEL.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of January 2009 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.