Narrative:

As we were finishing our pre-flight duties a ramp agent came up to the cockpit and advised us of a substantial leak under the left wing. Upon inspecting the area we found hydraulic fluid leaking out of the access panel under the left aileron power control unit (PCU) area. We contacted maintenance control to have a mechanic come out to take a look at our problem. After looking at the problem we thought that the passengers would be more comfortable waiting in the terminal instead of the aircraft; so we deplaned the passengers while maintenance troubleshot the problem. After about an hour and a half maintenance found the problem. It ended up being hydraulic fluid misting out of the front seal of the outboard aileron PCU as well as leakage from the aft area of the PCU. The mechanic told me that he has had his license for 23 years and wasn't about to loose it over signing off an unsafe ferry flight. That being said with the knowledge that was handed to me and my advanced systems knowledge; I refused to ferry the aircraft. The maintenance supervisor told me that he wouldn't ask me to do anything that I didn't feel comfortable with; but 'I have been doing this for 14 years and we have done ferry flights like this before.' at no time did I feel that I was being pressured by maintenance control; but I was displeased with the way he described how we can safely operate a flight when he is not there himself seeing what 3 other mechanics were seeing.it has become clear that this company has taken on time performance; completion factors; and cost factors more seriously than that of the safety and well being of the traveling public and our crews. I know that safety doesn't always make us money in this industry; but it's about time that we start making it a priority. Maybe if I was a brand spanking new captain the maintenance supervisor's 14 years of experience remark would have changed my mind and I could have gone; allowing the pressure to blow out the seal to the PCU depleting all hydraulic fluid burning out the pump which costs thousands of dollars. Not to mention the fact that the pressure could have destroyed another system component causing a flight control problem; which is an NTSB submission. I'm sure that would also cost some money as well. But that's what my years of experience gets me.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: CRJ flight crew was informed of a hydraulic leak under the left wing by the agent just prior to departure. Contract maintenance was called and discovered a leaking aileron PCU; which they cannot repair. Maintenance Control asked the crew to ferry to a maintenance base; which they decline.

Narrative: As we were finishing our pre-flight duties a ramp agent came up to the cockpit and advised us of a substantial leak under the left wing. Upon inspecting the area we found hydraulic fluid leaking out of the access panel under the left aileron Power Control Unit (PCU) area. We contacted Maintenance Control to have a Mechanic come out to take a look at our problem. After looking at the problem we thought that the passengers would be more comfortable waiting in the terminal instead of the aircraft; so we deplaned the passengers while Maintenance troubleshot the problem. After about an hour and a half Maintenance found the problem. It ended up being hydraulic fluid misting out of the front seal of the outboard aileron PCU as well as leakage from the aft area of the PCU. The Mechanic told me that he has had his license for 23 years and wasn't about to loose it over signing off an unsafe ferry flight. That being said with the knowledge that was handed to me and my advanced systems knowledge; I refused to ferry the aircraft. The Maintenance Supervisor told me that he wouldn't ask me to do anything that I didn't feel comfortable with; but 'I have been doing this for 14 years and we have done ferry flights like this before.' At no time did I feel that I was being pressured by Maintenance Control; but I was displeased with the way he described how we can safely operate a flight when he is not there himself seeing what 3 other mechanics were seeing.It has become clear that this company has taken on time performance; completion factors; and cost factors more seriously than that of the safety and well being of the traveling public and our crews. I know that safety doesn't always make us money in this industry; but it's about time that we start making it a priority. Maybe if I was a brand spanking new Captain the Maintenance Supervisor's 14 years of experience remark would have changed my mind and I could have gone; allowing the pressure to blow out the seal to the PCU depleting all hydraulic fluid burning out the pump which costs thousands of dollars. Not to mention the fact that the pressure could have destroyed another system component causing a flight control problem; which is an NTSB submission. I'm sure that would also cost some money as well. But that's what my years of experience gets me.

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.