Narrative:

Operational deficiencies at (my) international carrier: a) ramp refueling; B) maintenance; C) human factors; D) general. The following list is a guide to help you understand them. A) ramp procedures. Refueling: the lack of training and proper equipment for the fuel truck operators has been an issue for a long time. Not only in handling their own gear; but the airplane fuel station as well. The status of the fire extinguishers at some of the fuel trucks and the training of fuel operators has been a big problem. The proper orientation of the fuel truck and obstructions in escape pathway are common errors. After a front galley has been supplied; its corresponding door (R-1) is being improperly left open. This would affect the passenger emergency evacuation procedures if needed. Usually occurs not only in this door but in the aft right (R-2) as well. My carrier has issued a new refueling procedure with passengers on board which allows this type of events to happen almost on a daily basis (against the law and common sense). Common practice; the fuel truck is either misplaced; escape route being blocked or both. Some times the refuel equipment is being placed under the wing fuel vent. This shouldn't be; since if any fuel spill occurs the situation could turn dangerous. B) maintenance: logbooks: the lack of planning and extra pages; time pressure; not enough mechanics; etc. Results in a sloppy job being done in the maintenance logbooks. C) human factors: over stressed; overburden; overworked...chronic fatigued crews. Not proper rest period and places to layover; etc... Since 5 years ago our working conditions; labors situation and consequently personal life had been deteriorating rapidly. We have had flying incidents in which the fatigue factors has been involved and needless to say; involving highly trained; qualified and motivated pilots. D) general: nose landing gear pins are installed without the 'remove before flight' tag. In most international stations; even in the united states; we have contracted companies with low quality standards and poor training; which sometimes don't meet the requirements. Corporate pressure: punitive action against the employee who complains; dares to mention what is wrong or unethical and tries to do the right thing. Itinerary; punctuality-first policy: this could be translated to 'rushed and throw every thing; shut the airplane door and we see later.' my airline changed the turnaround time from 35-40 minutes to 25 in some airports; many problems developed due to this and after many incidents some small changes were introduced. However the 'spirit of punctuality' remains as the final goal. The international stopovers are different; due to security reasons; otherwise the story would be almost the same. Reduce cost no matter what policy. Just to mention an example: the commercial approach plates for the alternate airports given individuality to the pilot have been removed; only one set of these airports exists at each airplane; which means if flying to the alternate; we have to share the information in the cockpit with high workload.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An Airbus Captain of a Foreign Carrier expresses concerns about numerous issues at his airline involving operational deficiencies on the Ramp and refueling procedures; Maintenance Practices; Human Factor stressors and complacency affecting their operational standards.

Narrative: Operational deficiencies at (my) International Carrier: A) Ramp refueling; B) Maintenance; C) Human Factors; D) General. The following list is a guide to help you understand them. A) Ramp procedures. Refueling: The Lack of training and proper equipment for the fuel truck Operators has been an issue for a long time. Not only in handling their own gear; but the airplane fuel station as well. The status of the fire extinguishers at some of the fuel trucks and The training of fuel Operators has been a big problem. The proper orientation of the fuel truck and obstructions in escape pathway are common errors. After a front galley has been supplied; its corresponding door (R-1) is being improperly left open. This would affect the passenger Emergency Evacuation Procedures if needed. Usually occurs not only in this door but in the aft right (R-2) as well. My Carrier has issued a new refueling procedure with passengers on board which allows this type of events to happen almost on a daily basis (against the law and common sense). Common practice; the fuel truck is either misplaced; escape route being blocked or both. Some times the refuel equipment is being placed under the wing fuel vent. This shouldn't be; since if any fuel spill occurs the situation could turn dangerous. B) Maintenance: Logbooks: The lack of planning and extra pages; time pressure; not enough Mechanics; etc. results in a sloppy job being done in the Maintenance Logbooks. C) Human Factors: Over stressed; overburden; overworked...chronic fatigued Crews. Not proper rest period and places to layover; etc... Since 5 years ago our working conditions; labors situation and consequently personal life had been deteriorating rapidly. We have had flying incidents in which the fatigue factors has been involved and needless to say; involving highly trained; qualified and motivated Pilots. D) General: Nose landing gear pins are installed without the 'Remove Before Flight' tag. In most International Stations; even in the United States; we have contracted companies with low quality standards and poor training; which sometimes don't meet the requirements. Corporate pressure: Punitive action against the employee who complains; dares to mention what is wrong or unethical and tries to do the right thing. Itinerary; punctuality-first policy: This could be translated to 'rushed and throw every thing; shut the airplane door and we see later.' My Airline changed the turnaround time from 35-40 minutes to 25 in some airports; many problems developed due to this and after many incidents some small changes were introduced. However the 'spirit of punctuality' remains as the final goal. The International stopovers are different; due to security reasons; otherwise the story would be almost the same. Reduce cost no matter what policy. Just to mention an example: The Commercial Approach Plates for the Alternate airports given individuality to the Pilot have been removed; only one set of these airports exists at each airplane; which means if flying to the Alternate; we have to share the information in the Cockpit with high workload.

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.