Narrative:

I picked up the plane for this flight from the inbound captain. He briefed me that the aircraft cabin smelled of fuel while on the ground. Also; a fuel leak was evident at the gate at the previous stop. Maintenance control said this was normal in some circumstances; and explained it via a fuel vent or drain. There was no maintenance action at the outstation; other than a phone call. A mechanic did come out to troubleshoot in ZZZ1 running the engine boost pump and checking for leaks. There were no faults noted because the puddle under the APU drain was seen by him as normal. With the aircraft released by maintenance; I started APU. With the packs on; the odor of fuel was strong enough to fear lighting a match; so I shut down and recalled maintenance. This time; the mechanic ran the APU with the enclosure open. Observing a substantial fuel leak at the APU fuel control; he used the emergency stop button in the aft equipment bay to secure the system. The leak took about 45 mins to fix; and we continued to ZZZ2 without incident. We flew the same aircraft to ZZZ3 the next morning. It was hot the previous day; and we ran the packs at full cold. I needed heat in cruise the next day; however. I discovered that the cabin smelled of fuel again with heat applied; but the smell dissipated with the lower temperature. I could make the smell come and go by moving the thermostat. The smell was not nearly as strong as the previous day. I decided that there was probably some residual vapor in the ductwork and continued to ZZZ3. On arrival; I was met by a mechanic supervisor who knew what he was doing. I explained the whole story. 'Did they clean the vapor separator socks?' he asked; 'nope;' then he said 'well; no wonder it smells. You're supposed to do that in this case.' I left the airplane with him; but I am confident that he fixed it right. The politest term I can think of to describe maintenance 'troubleshooting' both on the phone and in person is half-assed. It's a wonder that we didn't have an APU fire.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A CRJ200 CAPT REPORTED AN APU FUEL LEAK WAS IMPROPERLY HANDLED BY MAINT.

Narrative: I PICKED UP THE PLANE FOR THIS FLT FROM THE INBOUND CAPT. HE BRIEFED ME THAT THE ACFT CABIN SMELLED OF FUEL WHILE ON THE GND. ALSO; A FUEL LEAK WAS EVIDENT AT THE GATE AT THE PREVIOUS STOP. MAINT CTL SAID THIS WAS NORMAL IN SOME CIRCUMSTANCES; AND EXPLAINED IT VIA A FUEL VENT OR DRAIN. THERE WAS NO MAINT ACTION AT THE OUTSTATION; OTHER THAN A PHONE CALL. A MECH DID COME OUT TO TROUBLESHOOT IN ZZZ1 RUNNING THE ENG BOOST PUMP AND CHKING FOR LEAKS. THERE WERE NO FAULTS NOTED BECAUSE THE PUDDLE UNDER THE APU DRAIN WAS SEEN BY HIM AS NORMAL. WITH THE ACFT RELEASED BY MAINT; I STARTED APU. WITH THE PACKS ON; THE ODOR OF FUEL WAS STRONG ENOUGH TO FEAR LIGHTING A MATCH; SO I SHUT DOWN AND RECALLED MAINT. THIS TIME; THE MECH RAN THE APU WITH THE ENCLOSURE OPEN. OBSERVING A SUBSTANTIAL FUEL LEAK AT THE APU FUEL CTL; HE USED THE EMER STOP BUTTON IN THE AFT EQUIP BAY TO SECURE THE SYS. THE LEAK TOOK ABOUT 45 MINS TO FIX; AND WE CONTINUED TO ZZZ2 WITHOUT INCIDENT. WE FLEW THE SAME ACFT TO ZZZ3 THE NEXT MORNING. IT WAS HOT THE PREVIOUS DAY; AND WE RAN THE PACKS AT FULL COLD. I NEEDED HEAT IN CRUISE THE NEXT DAY; HOWEVER. I DISCOVERED THAT THE CABIN SMELLED OF FUEL AGAIN WITH HEAT APPLIED; BUT THE SMELL DISSIPATED WITH THE LOWER TEMP. I COULD MAKE THE SMELL COME AND GO BY MOVING THE THERMOSTAT. THE SMELL WAS NOT NEARLY AS STRONG AS THE PREVIOUS DAY. I DECIDED THAT THERE WAS PROBABLY SOME RESIDUAL VAPOR IN THE DUCTWORK AND CONTINUED TO ZZZ3. ON ARR; I WAS MET BY A MECH SUPVR WHO KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING. I EXPLAINED THE WHOLE STORY. 'DID THEY CLEAN THE VAPOR SEPARATOR SOCKS?' HE ASKED; 'NOPE;' THEN HE SAID 'WELL; NO WONDER IT SMELLS. YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DO THAT IN THIS CASE.' I LEFT THE AIRPLANE WITH HIM; BUT I AM CONFIDENT THAT HE FIXED IT RIGHT. THE POLITEST TERM I CAN THINK OF TO DESCRIBE MAINT 'TROUBLESHOOTING' BOTH ON THE PHONE AND IN PERSON IS HALF-ASSED. IT'S A WONDER THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE AN APU FIRE.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of May 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.