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A320 captain describes pressure from a supervisor when the captain refuses an aircraft for lack of an APU.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 899739 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201007 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | IMC |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | A320 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Parked |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Not Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 200 Flight Crew Total 8800 Flight Crew Type 2800 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | No Specific Anomaly Occurred All Types |
Narrative:
For an aircraft refusal I was asked repeatedly by the station supervisor if I would do an 'airstart' in front of the entire crew. After I told him that I needed the deferral cleared; he then made the comment; 'so that's it; you're refusing the airplane because you won't do an airstart.' subsequently; as I walked down the jetway stairs the supervisor then asked me; 'is there a pilot action going on?' I found this question very shocking and his entire attitude antagonistic. He did not introduce himself until I asked him his identity while walking down the jetway stairs (of which he was following me and then asked the inappropriate job action question). This kind of intense pressure to reverse my decision about the aircraft refusal I found to be a major saftey issue! The boss of this supervisor should counsel him on the policy of aircraft refusal written in the fom.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A320 Captain describes pressure from a Supervisor when the Captain refuses an aircraft for lack of an APU.
Narrative: For an aircraft refusal I was asked repeatedly by the Station Supervisor if I would do an 'airstart' in front of the entire crew. After I told him that I needed the deferral cleared; he then made the comment; 'so that's it; you're refusing the airplane because you won't do an airstart.' Subsequently; as I walked down the jetway stairs the supervisor then asked me; 'is there a pilot action going on?' I found this question very shocking and his entire attitude antagonistic. He did not introduce himself until I asked him his identity while walking down the jetway stairs (of which he was following me and then asked the inappropriate job action question). This kind of intense pressure to reverse my decision about the aircraft refusal I found to be a major saftey issue! The boss of this Supervisor should counsel him on the policy of aircraft refusal written in the FOM.
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.