Originally Posted by
4 Holer
Rather than throw the crew totally under the bus who was the mechanic that checked the doors were closed, pins and covers out/removed then did the pushback very basic work practice stuff does not need to be written anywhere... mechanic needs to be taken out the back of the hangar.
I think you need to be a bit more aware of the policy at BNE due to mud wasps, and how much pressure Engineers and their companies are being put under before throwing around ideas of abuse to resolve the situation.
1. It is BNE policy which airlines comply with that pitot covers are fitted and remain on as long as possible during the transit. 5 mins before departure has been quoted here, and I believe that be correct from I have heard, but not sure if that is 5 mins before ETD or 5 mins before expected ATC push clearance. By that time the Crew walk-round has been done (and hopefully covers noted as fitted). The Engineer has fitted the covers as required on arrival, done the transit check, and hopefully made a Tech Log entry covering the fitment. The Engineer is then potentially in a position of having to sign off that entry as covers removed whilst they are still fitted and signing the flight clearance, getting the Capts acceptance and getting off the aircraft so that doors can be closed and the covers remaining on as long as possible prior to pushback which he then has to remove and try and meet an OTP target and comply with the requirement. To remove the covers, get back onboard, stow the covers, sign the log, get the captains signature, pull the pages, get off again so the bridge can be pulled could take longer than the 5 mins, and maybe anything longer could be enough time for ingress of mud wasps to start their nest building. So one Engineer put in a situation of having to be compliant, whilst being told to maintain OTP. One Engineer = cheaper transit.
2. As airlines want to pay less and less for maintenance, Engineers and the MRO's are having to handle more aircraft with less staff. The engineer may have 2-3 aircraft on the ground with faults or all departing within minutes of each other - all requiring pitot covers removing. I'm currently with an Line Maint MRO and
I pay more to get my car serviced than what some airlines pay for a transit and rectification. If airlines paid a more realistic price, maybe there would be more than one engineer at the aircraft as the companies could employ more staff. The licensed engineer could then remain onboard as long as possible, waiting for a last minute call from the Tech/Mech/AME confirming covers removed so that the log can be signed to get off the aircraft as close to a cleared push back time as possible. But one Engineer transit = cost saving.
3. It is not always an Engineer on the headset these days. Again due to cost cutting more and more Ground Handling Companies are performing the push back function. No offence to these guys, but again prices being paid by the airlines are not realistic, so the people employed are not really "aviation professionals" and more than likely do not even know what the function of pitot tube is. I would hope they would notice the covers fitted, but would they know what to do about it if they noticed them fitted? Was it a one man pushback conducted from a towbarless tug so that the only time he got anywhere near the aircraft was to unplug the headset from the external comms panel, which probably would not lead to him being stood far enough back from the nose to notice the covers still fitted? One man, non-engineer pushback = cost saving.
Now,
nothing of the above excuses what has happened, but the above does have potential to add into the factors that have created the event. The holes in the cheese all came together. Wanting to take the Engineer "behind the hangar" is not going to get rid of the holes in this cheese. In fact, there is a reasonable chance an Engineer could lose his job over this if found his actions were not compliant with the airlines policy and procedures and contributed to the event, but at the same time someone somewhere "did well" to get a reduced maintenance price and save the airline some $$$$$.