A320
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Workload; Communication Breakdown
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Inflight Event / Encounter Unstabilized Approach
Flight Crew Overcame Equipment Problem
Company Policy; Aircraft; MEL; Weather
On our initial descent into ZZZ the Captain's [side] windshield was not heated and began to freeze. The Captain visibility became impaired and resulted in him transferring the controls to the First Officer. At that point; I acted as Pilot Flying and continued the approach into ZZZ. I was given a poor vector to the outer marker which aided in me being [slightly] high on the approach. At 1;300; [I] began to verbalize go-around and Pilot Monitoring stop me mid-sentence. During the visual approach into ZZZ; I was not stabilized by 1;000 above field elevation and recommended go-around. The Pilot Monitoring stated 'hold on; you are trending correctly and we should be okay.' We were stabilized by approximately 900 [feet]. Once we landed safely and slowed the aircraft; the Captain asked me to continue taxiing since he had poor visibility on his side and my visibility was fine. We made it to the gate safely without incident. They then proceeded with contacting Maintenance regarding the windshield. The Captain open [his] side window to gain more visibility.The aircraft had too many MELs and Management could be more supportive versus citing intimidation during operations. We need to feel like a TEAM and not 'I.' [I should] be more assertive with my go-around decision. Perhaps; I should have not continue to taxi although it was totally safe. In the future; I will not taxi a plane as a First Officer no matter the situation. [I should] be more assertive with the Captain about Company time pressure when preparing for a flight. If I am rushed; I will be more assertive to [the] Captain with stating that I am not prepared and I need more time to ensure I review all items and perform all necessary checks prior to flight.
Despite asking for a later report; [I] was told to head to airport for a 3 hour sit. On arrival; the aircraft had [many] MELs. I was concerned with a MEL. I also found an engineering report for a TDI only allowing 10 legs and asked Maintenance to come out to the airplane. I called [Operations Center] because I was being dispatched into a thunderstorm and I was concerned I did not have a functioning windshield heat. Dispatch had been worthless and I would say under some influence. After discussing with personnel from [Operations]; I felt confident that only the side windows did not have de-ice feature which resulted in the same issue but it was a valid MEL. The difference being a side window is identified as a window and windshield as a windshield.On descent; every window on the left side of the aircraft was covered in ice. I could not knock it off with the windshield wiper observing the speed restriction nor could I use a c-fold to rectify the situation. Quite simply; I could not look out the left side of the aircraft. I handed control to the First Officer. We were given a bad vector and slightly unstable on approach but we were trending to stabilized and were fully stabilized by 954 feet. We landed. I elected to open my window so that we could have vision off the left side and have the First Officer taxi the aircraft since he had full vision to the gate. I also thought the air in and out of the window would improve the situation. Otherwise; I would have needed a tug. During taxi in; the aircraft was getting spurious FMAs; apparently retrying to capture the ILS even though we were on the ground. On Shutdown; I contacted [Operations]; Dispatch; [and] Maintenance and informed them that I would not take this aircraft out again until I could see out of the window. I also wrote up a high brake temperature.I then received a call from the Chief Pilot Office. Apparently; [Operations] had contacted them. The mechanic discovered that they had collared and PULLED the circuit breaker for the Window Heat Computer; which was wrong. He pushed the circuit breaker back in and signed off the aircraft. I again stated my position. 'If I look out the window and can see; I am more than happy to take the plane.' The mechanic got angry and stormed off claiming I should use my fore arm to clean off the windows and somehow use them to get rid of the ice on the windows; both interior and exterior. I again called the duty phone to let them know what was going on. I took pictures as well and sent them. It was apparent to me that this was not getting resolved and we needed leadership to fix this. Up to 3 hours had past; you could not see out of the left side of the aircraft. Quite simply I was getting angry. THIS WAS NOT A SAFE AIRPLANE. I felt pressured by Maintenance and [Operations] to take the plane regardless. After a while; window heat defrosted the windshield; but the side window was still frosted over. I had no way of a clear view to my right side during a taxi. I had the mechanic wipe down this window outside; but it would quickly fog back up. I instructed them to board and if need be; I could open the window on the taxi to wipe it off until we got in the air. I sat down to get the airplane ready for flight at which time I received 4 messages from my Dispatcher claiming [Operations] was in a 'witch hunt' blaming the current situation on us and claiming that taxiing with the window open was both illegal and not proper procedure. I then refused the aircraft at this point. [I] demanded to talk to a Chief Pilot instead of the Assistant Chief and explained the situation. We cancelled the flight. The window continued to worsen as we sat there. I felt pressured by [Operations]; [and] not supported by the Chief Pilot. The end game that I explained to them for over 2 hours was that if I could see out of my windows; I would be happy to fly the aircraft. They cancelled the flight and rebooked us deadheads later. Personnel in [Operations] then claimed over the phone that he never questioned me but then asked the Chief Pilot if I could legally have taxied the aircraft to the gate when I arrived in ZZZ.
A320 flight crew reported cockpit windshield heat was MELed and Captain's side window froze allowing no visibility from left hand side windows.