Narrative:

On taxi out; we had an ECAM warning; engine 2 probe heat fault. We tried to call the company via radio and ACARS with no success. We taxied back to the gate to get maintenance assistance. The MEL procedure called for the autothrottles to be turned off which also removes alpha floor protection. I called maintenance via dispatch; to inform them of the situation. I asked if the fault could be fixed; thereby giving me back the autothrottles. Dispatch informed me of the severe weather at this airport: storms and gusting winds as well as weather en route and destination. I spoke with two airbus managers who called to tell me autothrottles were not necessary for flight. I explained that the autothrottles were not the issue and have flown without autothrottles before. My concern was strictly safety and wanted to reduce my cockpit work load. I explained that we had severe weather; high terrain in a foreign country; and a complex departure procedure. Having to return into this airport in an emergency would be challenging at best. In keeping with the companies CRM training; I was trying to reduce and manage my threats. My last call was with maintenance via dispatch. He informed me that he was not fixing anything and that tomorrow I would be taking the airplane as is. I informed dispatch and maintenance that I would fly the airplane; once the weather passes through. I received a weather briefing and departed without incident.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An Airbus Captain questioned taking off into thunderstorms; winds and weather when the autothrottles were MEL'ed because of an Engine Probe Heat Fault.

Narrative: On taxi out; we had an ECAM warning; Engine 2 Probe Heat Fault. We tried to call the company via radio and ACARS with no success. We taxied back to the gate to get maintenance assistance. The MEL procedure called for the autothrottles to be turned off which also removes Alpha floor protection. I called Maintenance via Dispatch; to inform them of the situation. I asked if the fault could be fixed; thereby giving me back the autothrottles. Dispatch informed me of the severe weather at this airport: storms and gusting winds as well as weather en route and destination. I spoke with two Airbus Managers who called to tell me autothrottles were not necessary for flight. I explained that the autothrottles were not the issue and have flown without autothrottles before. My concern was strictly safety and wanted to reduce my cockpit work load. I explained that we had severe weather; high terrain in a foreign country; and a complex departure procedure. Having to return into this airport in an emergency would be challenging at best. In keeping with the companies CRM training; I was trying to reduce and manage my threats. My last call was with Maintenance via Dispatch. He informed me that he was not fixing anything and that tomorrow I would be taking the airplane as is. I informed Dispatch and Maintenance that I would fly the airplane; once the weather passes through. I received a weather briefing and departed without incident.

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.