Widebody; Low Wing; 2 Turbojet Eng
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 240; Flight Crew Total 23000; Flight Crew Type 5000
Other / Unknown; Situational Awareness
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown
General None Reported / Taken
Company Policy; Human Factors; Procedure
During the latter part of the preflight preparations for flight to YSSY; when we received the Maintenance Release; one of the relief First Officers (F/O) noticed that the residual insect spraying form was missing from the back of the aircraft logbook. The form was also missing from inside the cabinet above the coat closet at door 2L where a copy is supposed to be kept. We informed Station personnel of the missing form. After some time Station personnel informed us that the expiration date on the insect spraying form had in fact passed one week prior. The company had failed to inform of this fact even though the spraying is a requirement by law for entry into Australia. We referred to the FOM attempting to determine what specifically was required. Conversations with Dispatch; the Duty Manager; and the Assistant Chief Pilot ensued. We were informed by the Duty Manager that the insect treatment is normally accomplished in Taipei but that it had expired. According To the FOM; Taipei is not even an approved location for the spraying to occur. The FOM SPECIFICALLY STATES that the residual spraying is accomplished by a vendor while the aircraft is on the ground in Sydney. Period. The FOM continues to state that the requirement can also be met by using spray cans at the top of descent. A Company Representative familiar with these procedures arrived at the aircraft with a copy of a page taken from a company administrative manual entitled AC Appearance; a manual that no member of the 4 person flight crew plus the Standards Captain giving us a line check had ever heard of. The page stated procedures in direct conflict with our official document; the FOM. The page stated that if the certificate of Limited Residual Disinfection is missing or not current the pest control vendor must be notified and requested to spray the interior cabin with Victor Poison Free and the empty can boarded on the aircraft for presentation to foreign quarantine officials. We were informed that the pest control vendor was not available. The page of the AC Appearance manual continued to say that if the vendor is unable to treat the aircraft before departure that local departure station personnel were authorized to spray a small amount of the Victor Poison Free above the main cabin entry doors and the top of the threshold to the cargo holds. The empty cans would then be given to the crew for presentation to foreign quarantine officials upon arrival at the destination. We were informed that the product was not available to station personnel so that simple procedure could not be accomplished. We were informed by the Duty Manager and the Assistant Chief Pilot that the spraying would occur upon arrival in YSSY prior to the passengers or crew deplaning. They were not able to provide the specifics of which spray product would be used and whether the product contained poisons of any type. Given the limited information available I was unable to determine whether or not the product was in fact safe for all the passengers and crew onboard including but not restricted to pregnant women; the elderly or people with respiratory ailments; allergies; or chemical sensitivities. I was told by the Duty Manager and the Assistant Chief Pilot that it was in fact safe; though no proof of any type was offered other than to state that we do it all the time. The FOM makes no allowance whatsoever for spraying to occur upon arrival in YSSY with the passengers and crew onboard. The company failed in its duty to have the aircraft in state of readiness for the intended flight. The company failed to have product available to complete a top of descent procedure allowed by the FOM although I have my doubts as to the safety of such a treatment given the fact that company personnel have no knowledge of the products in use or their effect upon passengers and crew. In addition; had the AC Appearance manual procedure been followed and deemed in compliance; although not specifically stated in the FOMas being approved; we could have departed in a timely manner as long as the certificate of Limited Residual Disinfection was generated and placed in the logbook. We could have even departed in a timely manner had the company been in a position to follow the alternate procedure  specified in the AC Appearance manual but they also failed to have the product available to complete even that simple task.I informed the Assistant Chief Pilot that the 5 members of the cockpit crew were not comfortable with the proposed spraying upon arrival in YSSY but that we would fly the trip if so ordered. The flight attendants also voiced their concerns and stated they would go along with whatever the pilots decided. The Assistant Chief Pilot gave us a verbal order to fly the assigned trip followed by a written order stating that after consulting with the Union; FAR 117 and Management he found the assignment legal at the time it was assigned and that safety was not an issue. We continued the flight as ordered and were subjected to insecticide spraying upon arrival at YSSY with the passengers and crew onboard. The requirement that a flight crew member is required to be subjected to such spraying in the normal course of his duties has not been addressed in writing in any company documentation nor has the company provided proof in writing that such spraying is in fact safe. In addition; to the best of my knowledge; the requirement to be subjected to such spraying has not been agreed to nor deemed safe by the Union.
[Report narrative contained no additional information]
Air carrier flight crew discovers during preflight that the aircraft has not been recently sprayed for insects and cannot be sprayed prior to departure. The aircraft is sprayed upon arrival in Sydney with passengers and crew aboard.