Narrative:

We were swapped into an aircraft with the left pack MEL'ed. The flight deck was hot and uncomfortable. The cabin temperature showed 30 degrees celsius during pushback. After a few minutes of taxiing; the cabin temperature was noted to be 32 degrees celsius. We were parked in line at spot 2 for our taxi to the runway. The flight attendant informed me it was exceedingly hot in the cabin. She also stated that there was very little airflow coming out of the vents. I assumed it would be at least another 25-30 minutes of taxi time. I then decided to return to the gate. I notified dispatch/maintenance of the condition; and my intention of returning to the gate. I also stated that I refused to take this airplane in its current state. I don't know if it was dispatch or maintenance control; but I was told to tell the passengers that if they can't 'sweat it out'; the flight would cancel because they didn't have a spare airplane. I told them (company) that I was not going to 'sweat it out'. They responded by telling me (in a somewhat threatening tone) that the reason for the cancellation would be due to the 'captain's decision'. I told them that was fine. When we reached the gate; the cabin temperature was indicating 33 degrees celsius. I'm sure the flight deck was hotter due to zero airflow resulting from the left pack MEL. When I called our times in to dispatch; they informed me that maintenance was on their way. What really makes me mad at this whole situation is that dispatch/maintenance puts pressure on us to continue despite the extremely high temperatures on the airplane. They don't think of the safety/health issues involved. They just want the flight to go; and if there is any resistance; they try to threaten us.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A CRJ-200 Captain returned to the gate because of an excessive cabin temperature with a pack MEL'ed inop and high outside air temperature.

Narrative: We were swapped into an aircraft with the Left Pack MEL'ed. The flight deck was hot and uncomfortable. The cabin temperature showed 30 degrees Celsius during pushback. After a few minutes of taxiing; the cabin temperature was noted to be 32 degrees Celsius. We were parked in line at Spot 2 for our taxi to the runway. The Flight Attendant informed me it was exceedingly hot in the cabin. She also stated that there was very little airflow coming out of the vents. I assumed it would be at least another 25-30 minutes of taxi time. I then decided to return to the gate. I notified Dispatch/Maintenance of the condition; and my intention of returning to the gate. I also stated that I refused to take this airplane in its current state. I don't know if it was Dispatch or Maintenance Control; but I was told to tell the passengers that if they can't 'sweat it out'; the flight would cancel because they didn't have a spare airplane. I told them (company) that I was not going to 'sweat it out'. They responded by telling me (in a somewhat threatening tone) that the reason for the cancellation would be due to the 'Captain's decision'. I told them that was fine. When we reached the gate; the cabin temperature was indicating 33 degrees Celsius. I'm sure the flight deck was hotter due to zero airflow resulting from the Left Pack MEL. When I called our times in to Dispatch; they informed me that Maintenance was on their way. What really makes me mad at this whole situation is that Dispatch/Maintenance puts pressure on us to continue despite the extremely high temperatures on the airplane. They don't think of the safety/health issues involved. They just want the flight to go; and if there is any resistance; they try to threaten us.

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.