A320
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 180; Flight Crew Total 9000
Time Pressure; Situational Awareness; Human-Machine Interface; Communication Breakdown; Distraction
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown
Flight Crew Took Evasive Action; General Maintenance Action
Company Policy; Aircraft; Human Factors
Upon arriving at aircraft I noticed the First Officer's PFD (PRIMARY FLIGHT DISPLAY) was too bright for night-flying and; since the captain was not yet present; in the interest of preventing further delay; I sent an MRM code on ACARS and called Ramp Maintenance to let them know. After my walk-around; a Mechanic was in the cockpit who told me it was the same brightness as the Captain's PFD. I told him it wasn't and that it was too bright and I needed it changed. He said he'd see if they had one. When the Captain came in the cockpit I told him that I wrote up the PFD and they said they'd see if they had one. In the meantime; my overhead map light quit working and with the Captain's concurrence I sent a maintenance release and told Ramp Maintenance verbally that we needed that light fixed as well. They told us they would defer it to prevent a delay. I told the Captain that I relied very much on that light and we both knew they could change the bulb in 5 minutes or less. The Captain told them we wanted it changed and Maintenance replied that 'it is deferrable.' The Captain told him that yes; while it's deferrable; it must be adequate for the pilots to accept the deferral. They told us the Captain would have to refuse the airplane. While this conversation was occurring; we got the maintenance release over the ACARS and saw that the PFD was signed off; not even deferred. They also deferred the map light saying they had no time. So; the Captain stepped out of the cockpit and called the Dispatcher to refuse the airplane. Then when he came back he told me they were going to fix the map light but we would take the PFD as is; because they didn't have one to replace the (too bright) one in this airplane. I told the Captain I wasn't comfortable with that and he essentially told me I could walk off the airplane if that wasn't alright with me; because I was 'putting him in a box' with my insistence that they fix the PFD. I was shocked that the Captain wouldn't back me up on this and that we would take the airplane with a maintenance discrepancy write-up that the Mechanic ignored and signed off. They didn't even defer it; which I would have been OK with. But since they just signed it off and ignored my 'safety of flight' issue; I was not going to accept it because I thought it was illegal as well as wrong. The Captain pressured me to take it as is; trying to convince me that it wasn't that bright; even having me turn the PFD full bright and then full dim to 'convince' me it wasn't that bright. The Captain then accused me of being 'a big guy and you got your way' which appears he was mocking me because I didn't back down on my principles and professionalism. After some heated words of disagreement; the Captain seemed visibly upset; told me I could get off the airplane and that's when I no longer felt comfortable in the cockpit with him and the maintenance situation; and I chose to leave. After communicating with the Crew Desk and the Flight Operations Duty Manager (FODM); (approximately 30 minutes later) I discovered that maintenance somehow found another PFD they would install and they also would fix the map light. I told the FODM that due to the hostile cockpit environment I just left; I did not feel the comfortable; at all; completing that flight with that Captain.
An A320 First Officer removed himself from a trip after a disagreement with Maintenance and the Captain over the aircraft's maintenance status made working together unsafe.