Narrative:

MEL 29-32-01 EICAS hydraulic reservoir quantity readouts (systems 1; 2 and 3) on all three of our aircraft types requires that the 'quantity in associated reservoir(s) is checked on the reservoir sight glass before each departure.' I had an aircraft with this deferral. This MEL has no (M) maintenance procedure; but has an (O) operations procedure that requires going into the aft equipment bay to observe the hydraulic quantity sight glass. Step two of the procedure: open the aft equipment compartment door 311B. What door is that? Is it the door to the aft equipment bay or a door inside the aft equipment bay? This warning: 'warning: obey all the hydraulic safety precautions when you do work on the hydraulic system and/or a hydraulic system component. If you do not do this; you can cause injury to persons and/or damage to equipment;' appears in the crj-700 and crj-900 mels; but not in the crj-200 MEL. I do not believe that the hydraulic system of the crj-200 is that different from the others; this warning should be in the crj-200 MEL. What are the hydraulic safety precautions? What safety equipment does the person performing this procedure need to wear? Pilots are not trained to do this. They have not been trained on the location of the various hydraulic reservoirs or their sight glasses. This procedure should be a maintenance task. Change the MEL to require maintenance to perform the inspection.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Captain challenges the use of an MEL (O) Operations Deferral Procedure requiring flight crew members to gain access to the aft equipment bay on their CRJ-200 aircraft prior to departure; to verify adequate hydraulic fluid quantity is visible at the sight glass on all three hydraulic reservoir. Pilot suggests changing the MEL to an (M) Maintenance Procedure.

Narrative: MEL 29-32-01 EICAS Hydraulic Reservoir Quantity Readouts (Systems 1; 2 and 3) on all three of our aircraft types requires that the 'quantity in associated reservoir(s) is checked on the reservoir sight glass before each departure.' I had an aircraft with this deferral. This MEL has no (M) Maintenance Procedure; but has an (O) Operations Procedure that requires going into the aft equipment bay to observe the hydraulic quantity sight glass. Step Two of the procedure: Open the aft equipment compartment door 311B. What door is that? Is it the door to the aft equipment bay or a door inside the aft equipment bay? This warning: 'WARNING: OBEY ALL THE HYDRAULIC SAFETY PRECAUTIONS WHEN YOU DO WORK ON THE HYDRAULIC SYSTEM AND/OR A HYDRAULIC SYSTEM COMPONENT. IF YOU DO NOT DO THIS; YOU CAN CAUSE INJURY TO PERSONS AND/OR DAMAGE TO EQUIPMENT;' appears in the CRJ-700 and CRJ-900 MELs; but not in the CRJ-200 MEL. I do not believe that the hydraulic system of the CRJ-200 is that different from the others; this warning should be in the CRJ-200 MEL. What are the hydraulic safety precautions? What safety equipment does the person performing this procedure need to wear? Pilots are not trained to do this. They have not been trained on the location of the various hydraulic reservoirs or their sight glasses. This procedure should be a maintenance task. Change the MEL to require Maintenance to perform the inspection.

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.