B767-300 and 300 ER
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Communication Breakdown; Troubleshooting
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General Maintenance Action
Aircraft; Procedure; Equipment / Tooling
The right main landing gear extended indicator was not working properly; it was extremely dim and intermittent. I spoke to Maintenance expecting it was just a light bulb problem and that it could easily be re-lamped; the mechanic revamped it however now it wasn't just extremely dim only one side was lit as the indicator is dual lit for redundancy in the system. I said I was not ok with the repair and said clearly this is deeper than a bulb issue; the mechanic then requested his lead come to the aircraft. The lead arrived and quickly; without thought; stated we will defer it. I immediately protested that I was not willing to accept the aircraft even if it was a legal deferral which it is not. The lead then began attempting to defer the indication under backlighting and instrument lighting which is not appropriate for a landing gear extension indication. I called dispatch and requested to speak to the DO (Director of Operations); they said he was not available and put a duty pilot on the phone I again stated I needed to speak to a DO he asked what the issue was I told him and he decided I needed to speak to someone with authority. At this point Maintenance Control was patched in and stated unequivocally that the landing gear indication could not be deferred and they would make all necessary repairs. Shortly thereafter I received a call from [name removed] agreeing whole that this was not deferrable and this was unacceptable. Upon further review and research I found 2 Flight Crew reports from this week that stated a go-around due to a faulty right main landing gear indication was performed. I then retrieved the aircraft maintenance logbook and quickly found the write up for the indicator and noted that it stated that the indicator was repaired. When a crew member requests to speak to a DO he should not be denied. A duty pilot is not a replacement for a Director of Operations. The current state of this airline is chaotic and understaffed they have little to no regard for safety. The primary goal is to push and safety only gets in the way. The ground crews continually attempt to pressure flight crews to leave on time regardless of the state of the aircraft and I am certain other mistakes are being made. I believe there will be an accident in the very near future if this company is allowed to continue to operate in this manner.
B767 Captain reported main landing gear extended indicator not functioning correctly.