B737-800
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Communication Breakdown; Other / Unknown
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General Release Refused / Aircraft Not Accepted
Aircraft; Company Policy; Procedure
We had flown the aircraft in and were scheduled to continue on. On the preflight the FO [First Officer] found black oil streaking down the belly of the fuselage from the pack bay doors to the tail skid. I made an entry in the logbook and the FO contacted Maintenance. The Technician arrived and looked at it. He said that it was just water from the packs mixed with dirt. I found that hard to believe. I explained that we had flown the aircraft in and knew for certain that this happened on the previous leg because the FO; being into photography; had taken a picture of the tail in the sunrise and there was no evidence of oil in that picture. The Technician pushed back. I went down to the ramp with him to show him my concern. There was water dripping from the pack doors. I showed that to him and tasted it to confirm that it was water. I also touched the black oil streak which was sticky and definitely not water mixed with dirt. I told him that I was refusing the aircraft until he could prove to me that the leak was fixed. The Technician explained that he couldn't take the airplane out of service and called his Supervisor. He said that; with the ongoing contract issues; he had to be careful about writing up maintenance issues because 'guys were getting into trouble.' He relayed to us one issue where a mechanic was fired for writing up airworthiness issues that were not specifically related to what he was working on. It seemed that our Technician was reluctant to agree that this was an obvious oil leak because he was afraid of losing his job. The supervisor arrived and found that there were two hydraulic leaks in the wheel well area. The aircraft was taken out of service. The Maintenance Technician was reluctant to agree that an obvious oil leak was an airworthiness issue because he was afraid of losing his job. The Company needs to make it clear to all employees that safety is the number one priority. If Maintenance Personnel are changing how they do their jobs and are afraid of performing their duties as they normally would; then we are at risk.
B737-800 Captain reported finding leaking hydraulic fluid during preflight.