A line mechanic described how mis-communication between himself; other mechanics; their maintenance ...

Narrative:

Upon arrival at the gate and engine shutdown the spar valve light stayed in the in-transit position. Valve light should be off. My co-worker called our maintenance office and talked to mr.'X.' I went down to the engine to troubleshoot. Mr.'X' told my co-worker he thought there was a deferral for it [spar valve] and would come out to help. When mr.'X' arrived he said he pulled the paperwork for a deferral.we followed MEL 73-3 procedure. With the affected engine running; open the left spar fuel valve circuit breaker (circuit breaker). Place fuel control switch in cutoff position. If engine stops running; the valve is operating normally. After complete engine spindown [spooldown]; reset circuit breaker and resume normal operation. MEL 73-3 is fuel control engine valve lights.we should have followed MEL 28-9 for spar valve lights. Both MEL 73-3 and MEL 28-9 procedures are very similar. I think because there were three people involved; there was miscommunication. Also; because we pulled spar valve circuit breaker in the procedure; we were actually checking the spar valve operation. Myself; my co-worker; mr. 'X' and maintenance control did not catch the difference between the MEL's. Maintenance control was involved because they reviewed and gave the authorization for the placard.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Line Mechanic described how mis-communication between himself; other Mechanics; their Maintenance office and Maintenance Control led to an incorrect MEL Chapter deferral of a Left Spar Fuel Valve on a B757-200.

Narrative: Upon arrival at the gate and engine shutdown the Spar Valve light stayed in the in-transit position. Valve light should be off. My co-worker called our Maintenance office and talked to Mr.'X.' I went down to the engine to troubleshoot. Mr.'X' told my co-worker he thought there was a deferral for it [Spar Valve] and would come out to help. When Mr.'X' arrived he said he pulled the paperwork for a deferral.We followed MEL 73-3 Procedure. With the affected engine running; open the L SPAR FUEL VALVE circuit breaker (CB). Place fuel control switch in cutoff position. If engine stops running; the valve is operating normally. After complete engine spindown [spooldown]; reset circuit breaker and resume normal operation. MEL 73-3 is Fuel Control engine valve lights.We should have followed MEL 28-9 for SPAR VALVE lights. Both MEL 73-3 and MEL 28-9 procedures are very similar. I think because there were three people involved; there was miscommunication. Also; because we pulled spar valve circuit breaker in the procedure; we were actually checking the spar valve operation. Myself; my co-worker; Mr. 'X' and Maintenance Control did not catch the difference between the MEL's. Maintenance Control was involved because they reviewed and gave the authorization for the placard.

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.

Attributes
ACN	882825
Time
Date	201003
Local Time Of Day	0001-0600
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B757-200
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Parked
Component
Aircraft Component	Fuel Line Fittings & Connectors
Person 1
Function	Technician
Qualification	Maintenance Airframe Maintenance Powerplant
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Deviation - Procedural MEL

A line mechanic described how mis-communication between himself; other mechanics; their maintenance office and maintenance control led to an incorrect MEL chapter deferral of a left spar fuel valve on a B757-200.