Narrative:

Upon arriving at gate 30 minutes prior to departure I was informed of a full flight with all jumpseats being requested. FAA as well as a company pilot on flight deck. The flight attendant jumpseats were occupied as well. Passengers were already boarding. As I processed the preflight duties I noticed that the APU was inoperative and OAT was approaching 95 degrees. In addition the gate ground air conditioning was putting out 109 degree air. This became a passenger and crew environmental hazard so I focused on limiting the rising temperature. The first officer had ground air removed and I briefed the ground crew. We will need to start engine #1 as soon as possible to get air flowing and reduce cabin temperature. I used to fly cattle worldwide (B-707/dc-8) so my experience is time matters. (Temperature/air flow) I also contacted maintenance since we also had a forward cargo door indication inoperative and maintenance needed to sign off maintenance logbook prior to departure. I briefed the crew; FAA and company pilot on flight deck. I always include the statement 'if you see anything that is a concern bring it to my attention.' since we had to start engines at the gate with no APU electrical I briefed the flight attendant that I wanted flight deck door closed prior to the cabin secure statement and I would get it from her via interphone. Just as I briefed the company pilot disclosed in cruise flight that the ship set revision date list was missing. I located it on the floor. In addition the flight attendant disclosed to me that I forgot to get the cabin ready statement via interphone. She did not call me since the cabin was ready. This is all that was disclosed to me. There may have been more items that we all missed. Flight deck topics included the ongoing union legal proceedings and industry issues. Items missed were brought to my attention as previously requested in my crew brief. My pre-departure brief to crew; jumpseat riders and FAA. Items missed were due to environmental hazard (rising temperature fatigue inducing) to my crew and passengers. My focus was narrowed to get an engine started as soon as possible (air flow) this time constraint as well as fatigue induced by heat may have contributed to missed items. There may have been more items but we all may have missed it. Fatigue induced by hostile working environment. When there is a non-normal operation in extreme weather the captain needs to be notified as soon as possible.. I would have become aware of the inoperative gate ground air conditioning and forced the issue of getting a new gate. There are plenty of communication tools to utilize. Tighter flight deck discipline. Tighter corporate culture discipline. Cabin temperature in extreme environments needs to be addressed daily in corporate communications (read files etc.) on a daily basis. This used to be a daily topic in operations. The corporate culture is out of balance and has lost any integrity regarding agreements and any sense of fairness (even handed) and as a result we are in federal court due to violations of federal discrimination laws.

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An A320 pilot described procedural errors committed as a result of distractions caused by high ambient temperature and an emotionally charged cockpit environment. The aircraft's APU was inoperative; no ground air conditioning was available and a corporate culture which created hostility between pilot groups and management.

Narrative: Upon arriving at gate 30 minutes prior to departure I was informed of a full flight with all jumpseats being requested. FAA as well as a Company pilot on flight deck. The Flight Attendant jumpseats were occupied as well. Passengers were already boarding. As I processed the preflight duties I noticed that the APU was inoperative and OAT was approaching 95 degrees. In addition the gate ground air conditioning was putting out 109 degree air. This became a passenger and crew environmental hazard so I focused on limiting the rising temperature. The First Officer had ground air removed and I briefed the ground crew. We will need to start engine #1 as soon as possible to get air flowing and reduce cabin temperature. I used to fly cattle worldwide (B-707/DC-8) so my experience is TIME matters. (Temperature/air flow) I also contacted Maintenance since we also had a forward cargo door indication inoperative and maintenance needed to sign off maintenance logbook prior to departure. I briefed the crew; FAA and company pilot on flight deck. I ALWAYS include the statement 'If you see anything that is a concern bring it to my attention.' Since we had to start engines at the gate with no APU electrical I briefed the Flight Attendant that I wanted flight deck door closed prior to the cabin secure statement and I would get it from her via interphone. Just as I briefed the Company pilot disclosed in cruise flight that the ship set revision date list was missing. I located it on the floor. In addition the Flight Attendant disclosed to me that I forgot to get the cabin ready statement via interphone. She did not call me since the cabin was ready. This is all that was disclosed to me. There may have been more items that we all missed. Flight deck topics included the ongoing union legal proceedings and industry issues. Items missed were brought to my attention as previously requested in my crew brief. My pre-departure brief to crew; jumpseat riders and FAA. Items missed were due to environmental hazard (rising temperature fatigue inducing) to my crew and passengers. My focus was narrowed to get an engine started as soon as possible (air flow) this time constraint as well as fatigue induced by heat may have contributed to missed items. There may have been more items but we all may have missed it. Fatigue induced by hostile working environment. When there is a non-normal operation in extreme weather the Captain needs to be notified as soon as possible.. I would have become aware of the inoperative gate ground air conditioning and forced the issue of getting a new gate. There are plenty of communication tools to utilize. Tighter flight deck discipline. Tighter corporate culture discipline. Cabin temperature in extreme environments needs to be addressed daily in corporate communications (read files etc.) on a daily basis. This used to be a daily topic in operations. The corporate culture is out of balance and has lost any integrity regarding agreements and any sense of fairness (even handed) and as a result we are in Federal court due to violations of Federal discrimination laws.

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.