Despite fueler objections. An A319 flight crew insisted that the required dripstick procedure be per...

Narrative:

A fuel gauge was deferred inoperative. The fueler did not perform required dripstick procedure. When asked to do this alternative procedure; the fueler said the gauge was working. I told him it was deferred and considered inoperative and the alternate procedure must be used. He told us that this plane had been going there all week and we were the first crew demanding that the procedure be accomplished. The fueler then said maintenance would have to be called out to dip the tanks and that we would be delayed. We told him the procedure was required and we would wait if necessary. The fueling supervisor returned approximately 10 minutes later with the required dripstick readings. However; the fuel sheet showed a reading of 13.5 for the tank with the inop gauge and the form showed a required value of 'maximum' with no tolerances printed. Initial inquiry with maintenance control indicated we needed a reading of 15 with a tolerance of +/- 0.5 which was outside of the 13.5 given by the fueler. The captain did a phone patch with maintenance through dispatch and determined based on FMGC aircraft attitude data; we were considered full with a reading of 12.0 or higher. I am concerned that we were being pressured to ignore an MEL requirement and the fueler's lack of familiarity with the procedure. I also think the information to determine if we have the correct amount of fuel from the dripstick readings should be more comprehensive. The tolerance should be on the fuel form and maximum should be defined as we had no way of knowing if 13.5 complied with 'maximum'.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Despite Fueler objections. an A319 Flight Crew insisted that the required dripstick procedure be performed on an aircraft with a deferred fuel quantity gauge.

Narrative: A fuel gauge was deferred inoperative. The fueler did not perform required dripstick procedure. When asked to do this alternative procedure; the fueler said the gauge was working. I told him it was deferred and considered inoperative and the alternate procedure must be used. He told us that this plane had been going there all week and we were the first crew demanding that the procedure be accomplished. The fueler then said Maintenance would have to be called out to dip the tanks and that we would be delayed. We told him the procedure was required and we would wait if necessary. The fueling supervisor returned approximately 10 minutes later with the required dripstick readings. However; the fuel sheet showed a reading of 13.5 for the tank with the inop gauge and the form showed a required value of 'MAX' with no tolerances printed. Initial inquiry with Maintenance Control indicated we needed a reading of 15 with a tolerance of +/- 0.5 which was outside of the 13.5 given by the fueler. The Captain did a phone patch with Maintenance through Dispatch and determined based on FMGC aircraft attitude data; we were considered full with a reading of 12.0 or higher. I am concerned that we were being pressured to ignore an MEL requirement and the fueler's lack of familiarity with the procedure. I also think the information to determine if we have the correct amount of fuel from the dripstick readings should be more comprehensive. The tolerance should be on the fuel form and MAX should be defined as we had no way of knowing if 13.5 complied with 'MAX'.

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	956031
Time
Date	201106
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	A319
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Parked
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Fuel Quantity-Pressure Indication
Person 1
Function	First Officer Pilot Not Flying
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 100 Flight Crew Total 14000 Flight Crew Type 1000
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Deviation - Procedural MEL Deviation - Procedural Weight And Balance

Despite fueler objections. An A319 flight crew insisted that the required dripstick procedure be performed on an aircraft with a deferred fuel quantity gauge.