Maintenance Airframe; Maintenance Powerplant
Communication Breakdown; Situational Awareness
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Company Policy; Human Factors
Before departure; the Captain went to pull the [wheel] chocks. The Lineman [Mechanic] told him that he would take care of it but the crew member insisted that he would pull them. The Lineman then explained to him that for safety reasons and Station safety policy; they don't pull the chocks until the Ground Power Unit (GPU) power cord connected to the aircraft is disconnected. That crew member impolitely said that he's following his own policy and that he was going to instruct our company on how he strongly disagrees with this policy and went ahead and pulled the chocks anyway. The policy was set in place due to multiple times of the aircraft inadvertently rolling forward while the crew members were performing Pre-flight Checks. Several aircraft and GPU's were damaged when the cord was stretched to full length. Crews sometimes release brakes and lessen foot pressure accidently; causing the aircraft to roll forward; prior to providing the disconnect signal to the Lineman. This Local Base policy prevents 2-3 potential GPU incidents each year.
A Maintenance Manager describes his efforts to discourage a Captain from pulling the wheel chocks from an Embraer EMB-505 aircraft during pre-departure operations. Pilot disregards request; ignoring the safety concerns of Maintenance personnel and company Station safety policy.