Am I smarter than the manufacturer? Overall, probably not. But I do hold an engineering degree as well as an ATPL, and two heads are better than one (or N+1 is better than N). In my current role I do talk to the chief test pilot at a major manufacturer on a fairly regular basis about systems failure procedures and quite often I query him about the MEL and Abnormal checklists. Those conversations (very occaisionally) have led to changes in procedures. So, you see, the manufactures use feedback from the line.
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I completely agree, Capt PB.
I have had the great good fortune to work with Transport Canada and several manufacturers in developling MMEL's.
And mostly, the result works - we can legally, and safely, operate with some stuff inop.
But I have also seen some utter MEL gong shows. Any pilot or engineer with a good grasp of the mechanical systems involved would conclude NFW! This especially apparent with combos, as many don't understand the interelated systems risk.
Problem is, the smart Capt's who understand the systems know when to say no, but the dummies just press on - in complete bovine stupidity - just because the MEL says so. Yikes!
