Narrative:

December 2011. During this day; we operated a crj-200 aircraft for two legs (ZZZ-ZZZ1-ZZZ2). On the morning walk and during the safety inspection in the aft equipment bay; I noticed a duct that went into the right pack was compromised and was not connected. We notified maintenance of this problem and they came to the plane at which time they fixed and signed-off the aircraft. At this point we made sure that the mechanic had closed the aft equipment bay (aeb) and we proceeded to operate flight from ZZZ-ZZZ1. Upon arrival in ZZZ1; and on my walk around; I [again] looked in the aft equipment bay to see if the fix held. The tape had not held and the duct was again compromised. We called maintenance and they came and applied high speed tape (the aluminum looking tape) to the duct; to secure the duct for our flight and at this point they signed the plane off. We proceeded to operate flight from ZZZ1-ZZZ2. Once we arrived in ZZZ2; I did my post flight walk around and once again checked to see if the tape held. It did not and the pipe was once again compromised. At this point local maintenance (operated by another carrier); came to the plane and stated that the pipe that was compromised and was not supposed to be a two part duct. It was a solid single piece duct and that taping the duct was not an approved fix. We left the aircraft for our overnight and do not know what happened the rest of that day. The next day; after our problems on the previous day; we were scheduled to operate our first flight out of ZZZ2-ZZZ1 on another crj-200; aircraft Y. Because of the problems the previous day I was curious to see what the single piece duct looked like. On my walk around I looked in the aft equipment bay. As I was exiting the compartment I noticed a 10th-stage duct on the left side; connecting to the left pack; coming into the aft equip bay from the engine pylon that was not connected. The ends were frayed and it was not secured. This particular pipe had fire detection loops running down the side of it. We called maintenance and they came to the aircraft. At this point their initial instinct was to tape the duct to the metal connector. After speaking with maintenance control; they then proceeded to ground the aircraft as they needed to replace the entire duct. They stated that; they would have to get the part from the vendor and that might take some time as they did not have the part on hand. At this point we took this aircraft over to a hangar. Upon returning to the terminal; we were told to take aircraft X. On the walk around; I now was concerned with the maintenance procedures that were being used. I proceeded to inspect the aft equipment bay. The duct from the the 13th-stage was fixed and looked to be in good shape. However; the same duct that was broken on ship aircraft Y; on the left pack 10th-stage was also broken. This plane was also grounded. The lack of adequate parts and maintenance in ZZZ1 are a major concern. This seems to be the norm for our operation on the mainline carrier's side; where we put band-aids on until we can get a plane into [our maintenance base] in ZZZ. Maintenance procedures and lack of adequate parts and equipment are detrimental to the mainline carrier's operations.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A First Officer reports improper maintenance procedures; lack of adequate parts and recurring 10th and 13th stage air conditioning duct failures in the aft equipment bays of their CRJ-200 aircraft.

Narrative: December 2011. During this day; we operated a CRJ-200 aircraft for two legs (ZZZ-ZZZ1-ZZZ2). On the morning walk and during the safety inspection in the Aft Equipment Bay; I noticed a duct that went into the Right Pack was compromised and was not connected. We notified Maintenance of this problem and they came to the plane at which time they fixed and signed-off the aircraft. At this point we made sure that the Mechanic had closed the Aft Equipment Bay (AEB) and we proceeded to operate flight from ZZZ-ZZZ1. Upon arrival in ZZZ1; and on my walk around; I [again] looked in the Aft Equipment Bay to see if the fix held. The tape had not held and the duct was again compromised. We called Maintenance and they came and applied High Speed tape (the aluminum looking tape) to the duct; to secure the duct for our flight and at this point they signed the plane off. We proceeded to operate flight from ZZZ1-ZZZ2. Once we arrived in ZZZ2; I did my post flight walk around and once again checked to see if the tape held. It did not and the pipe was once again compromised. At this point local Maintenance (operated by another carrier); came to the plane and stated that the pipe that was compromised and was not supposed to be a two part duct. It was a solid single piece duct and that taping the duct was not an approved fix. We left the aircraft for our overnight and do not know what happened the rest of that day. The next day; after our problems on the previous day; we were scheduled to operate our first flight out of ZZZ2-ZZZ1 on another CRJ-200; Aircraft Y. Because of the problems the previous day I was curious to see what the single piece duct looked like. On my walk around I looked in the Aft Equipment Bay. As I was exiting the compartment I noticed a 10th-Stage duct on the left side; connecting to the left pack; coming into the aft equip bay from the engine pylon that was not connected. The ends were frayed and it was not secured. This particular pipe had fire detection loops running down the side of it. We called Maintenance and they came to the aircraft. At this point their initial instinct was to tape the duct to the metal connector. After speaking with Maintenance Control; they then proceeded to ground the aircraft as they needed to replace the entire duct. They stated that; they would have to get the part from the Vendor and that might take some time as they did not have the part on hand. At this point we took this aircraft over to a hangar. Upon returning to the terminal; we were told to take Aircraft X. On the walk around; I now was concerned with the Maintenance procedures that were being used. I proceeded to inspect the Aft Equipment Bay. The Duct from the the 13th-Stage was fixed and looked to be in good shape. However; the same duct that was broken on ship Aircraft Y; on the left pack 10th-Stage was also broken. This plane was also grounded. The lack of adequate parts and Maintenance in ZZZ1 are a major concern. This seems to be the norm for our operation on the Mainline Carrier's side; where we put band-aids on until we can get a plane into [our Maintenance Base] in ZZZ. Maintenance Procedures and lack of adequate parts and equipment are detrimental to the Mainline Carrier's Operations.

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.