Technician reported management push back after discovering serious erosion; disbonding and delamination on the leading-edge access panels of the wing.
Synopsis
Technician reported management push back after discovering serious erosion; disbonding and delamination on the leading-edge access panels of the wing.
Narrative
During my job of closing a left fuel tank panel; while waiting for inspection I noticed the flap track fairing above me had fiberglass exposed on 75% of its surface and wondered how this could have been missed. I glanced over to the side and saw chunks of body fairings missing and above me noticed unprotected carbon fiber along the leading-edge access panels of the wing. On the belly I then noticed a heavily damaged area of fiberglass on the fairing and as I followed that panel to examine it for further damage; I saw the adjoining panel on the right side had large amounts of evidence of failing protection and delamination to the layer of conductive wire mesh. Also; the door on said panel had been eroded through all layers. Now on the right side of the aircraft I see the panels forward of me also have large areas of debonding; delamination and erosion. Also; the leading edge of the wing above me has even started to erode into several layers of the carbon and far beyond the protective layers. As I was documenting the discrepancies another mechanic mentioned some loose and missing rivets on the right-hand engine behind me. I wrote up the discrepant items and began performing temporary repairs as instructed and while applying speed tape on a ladder saw the over wing fairing were heavily damaged and wrote them up as well. Documenting damage as is my job. At the end of my shift a manager; summoned me to their office to harass me and apply aggressive intimidation tactics suggesting that I should ignore the obvious aircraft damage in order for their plane to meet its scheduled departure time. I informed them that documentation and repair of damage is my job and what the company insists; and FAA requires of me. Whether or not a previous mechanic decided to overlook it is irrelevant; because someone reacted wrongly does not mean that I should as well. I should not be pressured to risk my license and I informed them that Airbus and the company have temporary repairs for this exact reason. Yet; they continued to apply pressure to me and then ultimately waited until I was on vacation several days later to issue a write up to my home filled with hyperbolic statements about the discussion and scenario. Complacency during inspection along with the intense pressure and intimidation tactics by management to overlook damage. Management has long prioritized estimated time of repair over safety of passengers and proper documentation/maintenance of the aircraft. Managers should be properly trained in complacency and the unacceptable use of intimidation tactics that could put both the passenger's safety and their employees' licenses at risk. They should also be trained in the proper use of procedures; manuals; and should be reprimanded when they don't; instead of just passing the punishment onto the mechanics to instill fear in their workforce.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.