Embraer Jet Undifferentiated or Other Model
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Communication Breakdown; Workload; Troubleshooting; Distraction; Confusion
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural MEL / CDL; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General Flight Cancelled / Delayed; General Maintenance Action
Aircraft; Company Policy; Procedure
I don't have a record of the original aircraft we started in before we were swapped to this aircraft. The original aircraft had a Pack 2 overload message that had been chronic; three write ups in six days and Pack 2 was on MEL when we received the aircraft. The MEL requires an operational check of the recirculation fan for the Integrated Standby Instrument System (ISIS); and when we did that operational check the recirculation fan was not working. I notified Maintenance and we were in the boarding process at this point. They sent a mechanic out who tried various things to get the recirculation fan to work with no success and then he asked me (the Captain) 'what do you want to do?' knowing this plane would be grounded without a working recirculation fan.The reason for this report is because in this station in particular this attitude of noncompliance with inoperative items is pervasive. This is well known on the line; and hopefully Captains will make the right choice when faced with this decision; but it's a decision that a captain shouldn't even be considering.When mechanics are hinting to Captains 'what do you want to do?' we have a cultural problem at the airline. The threat is of course that anytime a mechanic and or Captain go outside of standards to self-evaluate risk it is not a path we want to go down. I'm not certain why it seems to be such an accepted norm in this station; but it deserves attention.Captains have to make the decision to do it right even when it's not convenient. The company could look at why this attitude is accepted in this station.
An Embraer regional jet Captain reported his aircraft's Pack 2 chronically malfunctioned. The MEL permitted pack off flight with a functioning recirculation fan; but after he discovered his aircraft's recirculation fan was inoperative; Maintenance was reluctant to address the situation.