FO RPTR AN ACI FOUND DUCT TAPE COVERING A PITOT STATIC PORT DURING INSPECTION AT EWR.

Narrative

IN LIEU OF THE FAA INSPECTION OF COMPANY AIRLINES ACFT XXX IN NEWARK; NJ; ON JUL/SAT/91; I AM FILING THIS NASA RPT. THE FAA INSPECTOR FOUND A SMALL PIECE OF DUCT TAPE COVERING A STATIC PORT ON THE ACFT. MY CREW HAD FLOWN THE ACFT FOR 5 LEGS (LGA-CMH-EWR-PWM-EWR-DTW) ON JUL/FRI/91. THE CAPT AND I ALTERNATED WALKING AROUND THE ACFT. NEITHER OF US FOUND ANYTHING IRREGULAR WITH THE ACFT. I AM VERY ATTENTIVE; AS I AM SURE THE CAPT IS; WITH CHKING ALL STATIC PORTS FOR OBSTRUCTIONS AS THERE WAS A RECENT INCIDENT WHERE AN MLG HAD CELLOPHANE TAPE COVERING THE STATIC PORTS CAUSING THE CREW TO DIVERT BECAUSE OF UNRELIABLE AIRSPD INDICATORS. THE TAPE COULD HAVE BEEN PLACED BY MAINT IN DTW WHERE THE ACFT REMAINED OVERNIGHT JUL/FRI/91 SO THAT THE ACFT COULD BE WASHED WITHOUT WATER GETTING INTO THE STATIC PORTS. HOWEVER; BECAUSE THIS CREW DID NOT FLY THIS PARTICULAR ACFT THE NEXT MORNING; I CANNOT CONFIRM THIS. TO REMEDY THIS FROM HAPPENING (I.E.; MAINT TAPING OVER STATIC PORTS) I RECOMMEND THE CHKING OF STATIC PORTS FOR OBSTRUCTIONS TO BE A MAINT CHKLIST ITEM IF NOT ALREADY SO.