EMB-175 First Officer reported procedures were not followed during maintenance for a fuel leak; with the aircraft subsequently operating in revenue service.
Synopsis
EMB-175 First Officer reported procedures were not followed during maintenance for a fuel leak; with the aircraft subsequently operating in revenue service.
Narrative
It was the first flight of the day. As I was doing my walk around; I noticed fluid dripping out of the number 1 engine drain. It was dripping approximately once every 10 seconds; and smelled like diesel so I assumed it was Jet A. I then informed the Captain; and he promptly called maintenance. Maintenance seemed to indicate it was not a big deal. They told us to run up the engine at the gate for 2 minutes while monitoring the drip; and that unless the dripping exceeded 100 drops per min we could continue the flight. The Captain and I looked through the Quick Reference Handbook and the GRG (Ground Rest Guide) to see if there was any guidance for the procedure; but found none. We briefed what we would each do; how we would proceed; and coordinated with operations. We then accomplished the engine start and run up with no problems; and the drip stopped as soon as the engine started.We finished the rest of the flight with no issues. Once we landed in ZZZ; the Captain decided to call maintenance again. He wanted to make a write up so that there was a paper trail if the drip ever occurred again. The second maintenance guy also indicated that it was not a big deal and that a write up was not necessary. The Captain told him that he was going to write it up anyway; so they decided to make an Info Only entry. We assumed the issue was resolved and completed the rest of the trip in the same plane uneventfully.Five days later I received a call from the Chief Pilot. She informed me that the engine start at the gate is a procedure we; as pilots; are not allowed to perform. Maintenance had steered us wrong and that they should have come out to the plane to address the problem. In retrospect; when we were unable to find the procedure in our literature; we should have consulted with another maintenance representative or another party (Job Card supplement; Flight Ops; etc.) to verify the information we were receiving. As a fairly new First Officer; this is has been hugely informative for me. Going forward; I will no longer blindly trust anyone when it comes to performing my job; even other departments within the company.I think that in order to prevent this from occurring in the future that a few things could be done. The pilot group should be reminded that maintenance can make mistakes and that if we are unable to find the procedure in our literature; they should seek further advice from another source. Secondly; maintenance; especially new employees; should be reminded that the pilot group puts a lot of trust in them; and that they should be certain that what they are recommending is within our capabilities and procedures.
Second reporter narrative
First Officer came back from his pre-flight walk around and mentioned the number 1 engine was dripping fuel; about 1 drop every 10 seconds. I called Maintenance Control and advised them of the fuel drip. Maintenance Control was not concerned; he said there is no limitation on how many drips when the engine is not running; the only limitation is when the engine is running the drips need to be less than 100 drips/1min. He said to start the engine; run for 2 minutes at idle; if less than 100 drips in 1 minute then its okay. I called Ramp Control and advised them we would be running an engine at the gate. I advised operations of the engine run. Once they were secure; all bag doors were closed and equipment was clear; I gave the command to my First Officer to start number 1 engine and run the engine for 2 minutes while I monitored from outside; soon as the engine had started; the drips stopped.I called Maintenance Control back and advised them that everything was fine; but I wanted something in the logbook for tracking. He advised me they were tracking it on their end; but if I wanted to I could put in the log book; information only. I verified with him that we (Flight Crew) did not have a Ground Rest Guide procedure for that; and he agreed that there was no procedure.I have been a Captain for some time now and have never had a situation like this; that should have been my first clue that this isn't something that I should be handling. I know it's not normal for fuel to drip from an engine; whether it is running or not. I should have followed my gut and pass the responsibility to Maintenance Control. I wrongly assumed that since I was under the direct verbal contact with Maintenance that the engine run was justified; however; we have no procedures that outline such actions regarding fuel drips/engine runs.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.