MD-83
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Training / Qualification; Confusion; Troubleshooting; Communication Breakdown
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Maintenance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General None Reported / Taken
Aircraft; Company Policy; Manuals; Procedure
This aircraft is missing sealant from the screw heads holding the boost pump access covers within the area of the TDG overwing heating pads. Other screws on these covers had large blobs of sealant extending at least a 1/2 inch into the airflow on the top of the wing and not faired at all. Maintenance Control says this is within limits and called the item 'fixed.' In a prior discussion with Maintenance Control several years ago; I was told that: 1) The sealant is required. 2) The max thickness for the sealant is .015 inches. 3) The sealant must be smooth with the air stream. During this conversation; I was told that the Airworthiness Directive (AD) had been mis-copied in 1999 (10 years prior to my conversation); and the maximum limit was mistakenly not listed on our Company's work orders; so many of our MD-80's were improperly sealed. He said he would look into the situation. Three years later almost all of our MD-80's have excessively thick; un-streamlined blobs of sealant on the boost pump cover screws. Has the maximum thickness requirement been lifted? What is the new limit if it has? I was taught that the upper surface of a wing is sacred when it comes to anything that can separate the airflow; and I think 1/2 inch is rather large. Please have the limits checked; and if it is still .015 inches; then almost every one of our MD-80's are out of compliance and they need to be fixed immediately. Furthermore; planes like this one have obviously ingested the blobs of sealant into their engines; since the pads are immediately forward of the cover screws. This cannot be good for the engines.
A MD-83 pilot noted that the boost pump access covers within the area of the overwing heating pads may have excess sealant on the screw heads which could be ingested in an engine.