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Q400 captain believes an MEL item allowing dispatch using manual pressurization control is unacceptably distracting to flight deck discipline.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 835832 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200905 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0001-0600 |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Dash 8-400 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Initial Approach |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Door Warning System |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying Captain |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe |
Narrative:
Our aircraft had an aft service door warning deferred. The door showed 'open' with it closed. The MEL relief for this condition included the procedure to operate the pressurization in the manual mode. This is a very detailed procedure requiring pilot actions below 500 ft AGL during take-off and landing. Also; any change in power settings results in a change in the rate of change of the cabin altitude. This requires an adjustment to be made to the rate control on the pressurization control panel. Most power changes occur below 10;000 feet thus requiring constant attention to insure the cabin differential limitations are not exceeded. The amount of attention required during the critical phase of flight creates a safety issue. This procedure creates a situation were there is effectively only one pilot giving their attention to flying the aircraft. In an environment of a busy airport this type of operation becomes a violation waiting to happen. Altitude; airspeed or clearance deviations; as well as exceeding the cabin differential is just a few of the potential pitfalls of this type of distraction. No violation occurred. This report is to voice concern that this type of MEL places the flight crew in danger of having violations.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Q400 Captain believes an MEL item allowing dispatch using manual pressurization control is unacceptably distracting to flight deck discipline.
Narrative: Our aircraft had an aft service door warning deferred. The door showed 'open' with it closed. The MEL relief for this condition included the procedure to operate the pressurization in the manual mode. This is a very detailed procedure requiring pilot actions below 500 FT AGL during take-off and landing. Also; any change in power settings results in a change in the rate of change of the cabin altitude. This requires an adjustment to be made to the rate control on the pressurization control panel. Most power changes occur below 10;000 feet thus requiring constant attention to insure the cabin differential limitations are not exceeded. The amount of attention required during the critical phase of flight creates a safety issue. This procedure creates a situation were there is effectively only one pilot giving their attention to flying the aircraft. In an environment of a busy airport this type of operation becomes a violation waiting to happen. Altitude; airspeed or clearance deviations; as well as exceeding the cabin differential is just a few of the potential pitfalls of this type of distraction. No violation occurred. This report is to voice concern that this type of MEL places the flight crew in danger of having violations.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.