Narrative:

When I received the papers for the first leg; I noted that the APU was deferred inop. Although ground air and electric were available; it's important to note that ground air conditioning was putting out 79 degree air. Cabin temperatures were in the mid 80's. Not exactly ideal for a summer day in texas. After a 35 minute turn we departed on the return leg. Approximately 8 minutes after departure; and at 12;000 ft we got a 'hot brakes' ECAM. In accordance with the ECAM procedure; we slowed to below 220 KTS and lowered the gear. After a minute or two the brakes were below 300 degrees and we raised the gear to continue our climb. As the gear tucked away in the wheel wells; we received multiple ECAM's (as you might expect with a power transition). After 20 seconds or so; several of the ECAM's cleared leaving only 3; i.e. Gen 1 fault; blower fault; and an northwest steering fault. Attempts to reset the generator; as per ECAM; were unsuccessful. Blower was placed in override and nose wheel steering had no procedure associated with the ECAM. Referring to the flight manual; it was noted that the nose wheel steering would be inop after landing. We called dispatch and patched through to maintenance. Maintenance had us try various procedures; but we were unable to regain the number 1 generator. Being down to 1 generator and in coordination with dispatch; we diverted to a suitable alternate. Landing was normal and taxi in was accomplished with differential braking until abeam the lead in line. From this point; I requested a tug to position us at the gate. Contract mechanics came aboard to debrief the nature of the problem. After checking the oil (ok); one of the first things they did was to try and start the APU; which started normally providing both air and electric. Apparently our maintenance had never tried to troubleshoot the APU when it was originally written up. Instead; it was automatically deferred inop. Clearly a missed opportunity. In conclusion; it's unfortunate that our staffing levels in both maintenance and station operations are so low that it's impossible to properly and professionally do the very best for pilots and our customers. We are getting by and not getting it right.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A319 flight crew experiences a hot brakes ECAM passing 12;000 FT during climb. Gear is extended for cooling per ECAM and when retracted; a generator failure occurs triggering multiple ECAM warnings. Most warnings self clear; but generator cannot be reset; resulting in a diversion due to dispatch with an inop APU.

Narrative: When I received the papers for the first leg; I noted that the APU was deferred inop. Although ground air and electric were available; it's important to note that ground air conditioning was putting out 79 degree air. Cabin temperatures were in the mid 80's. Not exactly ideal for a summer day in Texas. After a 35 minute turn we departed on the return leg. Approximately 8 minutes after departure; and at 12;000 FT we got a 'Hot Brakes' ECAM. In accordance with the ECAM procedure; we slowed to below 220 KTS and lowered the gear. After a minute or two the brakes were below 300 degrees and we raised the gear to continue our climb. As the gear tucked away in the wheel wells; we received multiple ECAM's (as you might expect with a power transition). After 20 seconds or so; several of the ECAM's cleared leaving only 3; i.e. Gen 1 Fault; Blower Fault; and an NW Steering Fault. Attempts to reset the generator; as per ECAM; were unsuccessful. Blower was placed in override and nose wheel steering had no procedure associated with the ECAM. Referring to the flight manual; it was noted that the nose wheel steering would be inop after landing. We called Dispatch and patched through to Maintenance. Maintenance had us try various procedures; but we were unable to regain the number 1 generator. Being down to 1 generator and in coordination with Dispatch; we diverted to a suitable alternate. Landing was normal and taxi in was accomplished with differential braking until abeam the lead in line. From this point; I requested a tug to position us at the gate. Contract mechanics came aboard to debrief the nature of the problem. After checking the oil (OK); one of the first things they did was to try and start the APU; which started normally providing both air and electric. Apparently our Maintenance had never tried to troubleshoot the APU when it was originally written up. Instead; it was automatically deferred inop. Clearly a missed opportunity. In conclusion; it's unfortunate that our staffing levels in both Maintenance and Station Operations are so low that it's impossible to properly and professionally do the very best for pilots and our customers. We are getting by and not getting it right.

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.