Pilot reports that he refused a crj-700 aircraft after maintenance signed-off a dent/crease skin dam...

Attributes
ACN	985786
Time
Date	201112
Local Time Of Day	0001-0600
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Regional Jet 700 ER/LR (CRJ700)
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Parked
Component
Aircraft Component	Horizontal Stabilizer
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural FAR Deviation - Procedural Maintenance Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

Narrative:

This morning; found on walk around a dent/crease in the horizontal stabilizer right hand lower inboard side. Told maintenance about it; (they were in the van) and the two mechanics shined their flashlight at it and said it was good; really? You can determine that a flight control surface is not damaged from 26 ft away; in the dark; without a lift. When they signed it off within limits; I refused to accept their lack of 'maintenance action' taken. How do we know without using a lift if there was any damage on any portion of the topside that we couldn't see from the bottom?another issue is that the plane just came out of a 72-hour service check and a routine check. Shouldn't this have been caught then? It is beyond ridiculous that we should have taken any delay over this. I'm sorry to vent; but the lives of my crew and passengers deserve more than a quick glance with a flashlight and signed-off 'within limits.' stop assuming it looks good and get proper tools to inspect damage.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Pilot reports that he refused a CRJ-700 aircraft after Maintenance signed-off a dent/crease skin damage on the right-hand lower inboard side of a horizontal stabilizer; by viewing it from the ground; inside a truck; at night; twenty-six feet away.

Narrative: This morning; found on walk around a dent/crease in the Horizontal Stabilizer right hand lower inboard side. Told Maintenance about it; (they were in the van) and the two mechanics shined their flashlight at it and said it was good; really? You can determine that a flight control surface is not damaged from 26 FT away; in the dark; without a lift. When they signed it off within limits; I refused to accept their lack of 'Maintenance Action' taken. How do we know without using a lift if there was any damage on any portion of the topside that we couldn't see from the bottom?Another issue is that the plane just came out of a 72-hour Service Check and a Routine Check. Shouldn't this have been caught then? It is beyond ridiculous that we should have taken any delay over this. I'm sorry to vent; but the lives of my crew and passengers deserve more than a quick glance with a flashlight and signed-off 'within limits.' Stop assuming it looks good and get proper tools to inspect damage.

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.

Pilot reports that he refused a crj-700 aircraft after maintenance signed-off a dent/crease skin damage on the right-hand lower inboard side of a horizontal stabilizer; by viewing it from the ground; inside a truck; at night; twenty-six feet away.