A line mechanic raises concerns about the serviceability of the 3-point vendor-repaired passenger re...

Narrative:

While assigned to work a dassault falcon 2000 aircraft; I was assisted by lead mechanic X to clear a passenger seat belt MEL. Found seat lap belt buckle had fallen apart; with items missing. Called vendor who [had] repaired belt and installed their own parts tag with their own part number (P/north); [we were] trying to see if we could get a replacement. Date and work order number (wo #) from late last year were of no help. Failed part was given to part 145 [repair station] chief inspector. Inoperative seat belt was discovered by company flight crew and put on the MEL. This item was recently reworked and installed per the data tag. Is this vendor being audited? It seems when they rework our belts; they assign their own part number that is not in our system; the original parts tag of the manufacturer is removed. In light of the failure of this safety device so soon after rework and the fact that parts seem to be missing; causing the device to fall apart; seems to indicate that the vendor could use some quality oversight.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Line Mechanic raises concerns about the serviceability of the 3-point vendor-repaired passenger restraint type seat belts used on their Dassault 2000 aircraft. A re-webbed seat belt buckle; tagged as serviceable; had fallen apart due to missing parts.

Narrative: While assigned to work a Dassault Falcon 2000 aircraft; I was assisted by Lead Mechanic X to clear a passenger seat belt MEL. Found seat lap belt buckle had fallen apart; with items missing. Called vendor who [had] repaired belt and installed their own Parts Tag with their own Part Number (P/N); [we were] trying to see if we could get a replacement. Date and Work Order Number (WO #) from late last year were of no help. Failed part was given to Part 145 [Repair Station] Chief Inspector. Inoperative seat belt was discovered by company flight crew and put on the MEL. This item was recently reworked and installed per the data tag. Is this vendor being audited? It seems when they rework our belts; they assign their own Part Number that is not in our system; the original parts tag of the Manufacturer is removed. In light of the failure of this safety device so soon after rework and the fact that parts seem to be missing; causing the device to fall apart; seems to indicate that the vendor could use some quality oversight.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 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	992937
Time
Date	201202
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Falcon 2000
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Parked
Component
Aircraft Component	Seatbelt
Person 1
Function	Technician
Qualification	Maintenance Powerplant Maintenance Airframe
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural FAR Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

A line mechanic raises concerns about the serviceability of the 3-point vendor-repaired passenger restraint type seat belts used on their dassault 2000 aircraft. A re-webbed seat belt buckle; tagged as serviceable; had fallen apart due to missing parts.