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A maintenance controller realizes his carrier does not have a procedure to discharge a leaking cargo pit fire bottle in a B737-300; as a safety precaution; prior to maintenance removing the bottle.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 768630 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200710 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801 To 2400 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | airport : zzz.airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Altitude | agl single value : 0 |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Operator | common carrier : air carrier |
| Make Model Name | B737-300 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | ground : maintenance |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | other personnel other |
| ASRS Report | 768630 |
| Person 2 | |
| Affiliation | company : air carrier |
| Function | other personnel other |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | aircraft equipment problem : critical other anomaly other |
| Independent Detector | other other : 1 |
| Resolutory Action | none taken : detected after the fact |
| Consequence | other |
| Factors | |
| Maintenance | contributing factor : engineering procedure contributing factor : manuals contributing factor : briefing |
| Supplementary | |
| Problem Areas | Aircraft Company Chart Or Publication |
| Primary Problem | Chart Or Publication |
| Situations | |
| Publication | Cargo Fire Bottle Procedure Deficient |
Narrative:
We had a cargo pit fire bottle leaking from the blowout disc area. It was decided to replace the bottle. The mechanic was concerned about it discharging in his hands. I told him to fire the bottle before removing it. There is no maintenance manual procedure to do this; so I asked fleet engineering to develop a procedure. Mr X of B737 engineering refused to do it. He felt the procedures to remove the bottle currently in the maintenance manual were sufficient. There are no procedures to discharge the bottle in the aircraft. In good conscience; I will not ask a mechanic to remove a leaky bottle without a maintenance procedure that protects the mechanic in the future. Suggested resolution provided by submitter: we preach safety first. Let's do something about this before someone gets hurt.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A MAINT CONTROLLER REALIZES HIS CARRIER DOES NOT HAVE A PROCEDURE TO DISCHARGE A LEAKING CARGO PIT FIRE BOTTLE IN A B737-300; AS A SAFETY PRECAUTION; PRIOR TO MAINT REMOVING THE BOTTLE.
Narrative: WE HAD A CARGO PIT FIRE BOTTLE LEAKING FROM THE BLOWOUT DISC AREA. IT WAS DECIDED TO REPLACE THE BOTTLE. THE MECH WAS CONCERNED ABOUT IT DISCHARGING IN HIS HANDS. I TOLD HIM TO FIRE THE BOTTLE BEFORE REMOVING IT. THERE IS NO MAINT MANUAL PROC TO DO THIS; SO I ASKED FLEET ENGINEERING TO DEVELOP A PROC. MR X OF B737 ENGINEERING REFUSED TO DO IT. HE FELT THE PROCS TO REMOVE THE BOTTLE CURRENTLY IN THE MAINT MANUAL WERE SUFFICIENT. THERE ARE NO PROCS TO DISCHARGE THE BOTTLE IN THE ACFT. IN GOOD CONSCIENCE; I WILL NOT ASK A MECH TO REMOVE A LEAKY BOTTLE WITHOUT A MAINT PROC THAT PROTECTS THE MECH IN THE FUTURE. SUGGESTED RESOLUTION PROVIDED BY SUBMITTER: WE PREACH SAFETY FIRST. LET'S DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT.
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.