A320
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 225; Flight Crew Total 20462; Flight Crew Type 7110
Confusion; Situational Awareness; Training / Qualification; Communication Breakdown
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Maintenance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General Maintenance Action
Procedure; Human Factors; Aircraft
During pushback the Flight Attendant called the Flight Deck on the interphone and advised us that one of the video screens was inoperative. I directed the First Officer to enter the appropriate maintenance Code into ACARS. Due to the maintenance problem I decided to delay starting the engines. After pushback; believing that the video screen would be deferred by Maintenance Control; I elected to have the pushback crew disconnect form the aircraft and asked the First Officer to advise Ramp Control that we had a maintenance issue on pushback and would be waiting for Maintenance Control to contact us for deferral and a new Maintenance Release. After a few minutes the Ramp called and asked us to return to the gate so the Maintenance could look at the problem. Because we hadn't started an engine yet; I directed the First Officer to start the left engine. Shortly after the left engine was started and at idle RPM we both noticed a guide man and two wing walkers standing in front of the aircraft having a conference. Additionally; two Mechanics drove up with an elevated maintenance cart. The First Officer and I were a confused as to why the guide men were apparently not prepared to marshal us back to the gate with the two mechanics next to them on a maintenance cart. I asked the First Officer to call Ramp Control on the radio and ask them what was going on; no answer. Before we got any reply from Ramp Control; the two Mechanics on the cart approached the nose of the aircraft; below on the right side. The First Officer and I could no longer see the Mechanics below the nose. I thought that one of them was going to plug into the interphone to speak to us directly. As our confusion grew; the First Officer suddenly noticed a Mechanic on the elevated cart just outside his right side window by Door 1R. I quickly called the Flight Attendant on the interphone and ordered her to disarm Door 1R as it looked like a Mechanic was attempting to come onboard. I then ordered the First Officer to shut down the left engine. WITH NO ADVANCE COMMUNICATION OR COORDINATION WITH THE CAPTAIN; the mechanics boarded the aircraft and put a deferred sticker on the inoperative video screen. They did; however; have the courtesy to call us on the cabin interphone to say that the video screen was deferred and that we would receive a new Maintenance Release. At a loss for words; and in shock and disbelief; I asked the mechanic with whom I spoke who was responsible for making the decision to perform maintenance in such an unexpected and non-standard manner. He replied that Maintenance Control directed them to perform the maintenance off the blocks. Our Operations Manual states that maintenance will be performed by Station Maintenance when discrepancies are discovered prior to block departure and that maintenance discrepancies discovered AFTER block departure will be managed by Maintenance Control. In the end; what we experienced was a half baked shortcut; led by a comedy of errors that could have had caused an accident. When is it permissible for Station Maintenance to perform maintenance to an aircraft while it is 'off the blocks?' If maintenance is required to be performed on an aircraft prior to take off; is the aircraft required to return to the blocks? I would like the safety department to research this incident to determine if any FAR's were violated.
An A320 flight crew was nonplussed when maintenance; without prior coordination; approached and boarded their aircraft after pushback to defer a passenger video screen which had been reported inoperative during pushback. This non-standard operation was apparently conducted to avoid a return to the blocks and the loss of an on-time departure.