B737-700
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 149
Training / Qualification; Confusion; Troubleshooting; Communication Breakdown
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General Maintenance Action; General Flight Cancelled / Delayed
Aircraft; Company Policy; Human Factors; Procedure
After being advised by a Passenger of the nature of the recent company news-making event; (I knew we had an issue but Flight Operations forwarded no information to me about the nature of the issue or the system involved); I decided that it couldn't hurt to do a Standby Rudder Check. The aircraft failed the check. It appeared that the Standby Rudder Shutoff valve would not open. Four Mechanics ended up working on the problem and; by the time I left after over an hour of discussions; it was obvious that nobody had an understanding of how the system worked or how it was supposed to test. During a phone conversation with an unnamed Chief Pilot; I was told that I was being overzealous and should not have tested the system.We have deleted the Standby Rudder System check from our flows and procedures. (We still use gear pins; test VORs; marker beacons and check sunshades.) I have obviously misunderstood the importance of the Standby Rudder System. My haphazard and blatant disregard for Company policy and procedure led to a delay of over 1:30. I have taken the time to reread the Preflight section of the FOM and will do my best in the future to adhere to our procedures in order to minimize delays and protect the company's Return On Invested Capital (ROIC). Failed Standby Rudder Check.
Pilot reports a B737-700 aircraft in service at a gate had failed a Standby Rudder Check due to the Standby Rudder Shutoff Valve would not open. He noted that an hour and a half later it was obvious that nobody had an understanding of how the system worked or how it was supposed to test. He was told by a Chief Pilot that he was overzealous and should not have tested the system since the Standby Check had already been removed from the pilot's checklist.