Originally Posted by
airsupport
By the way, everywhere I have ever worked the Captain can always over ride an MEL and refuse to take the aircraft, but he must have a VERY good reason and be prepared to explain his reason to the chief Pilot and Company.
Agreed - that is of course because the final responsibility for ensuring the aircraft is serviceable before flight lies with the Commander. He can always decide, notwithstanding a defect entry that is permitted by the MEL, that he will not accept the aircraft. In particular, he is specifically required to consider, where there are multiple defects "in the book", whether the inter-related aspect of several items which in themselves are acceptable defects (ADDs), may mean that in combination they result in a non-acceptable situation that may not have been foreseen by the MEL.
What he cannot do, however, is to override the MEL requirement and fly the aircraft if the MEL says the defect is not acceptable. In this event, appropriate remedial action must be taken before flight.
JD
