ACFT DEPARTS DEP ARPT WITHOUT EMER EXIT OVERWING LIGHTS. TAKEN OFF ACFT THE PREVIOUS EVENING.

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FLEW THE ACFT FROM PHL TO MHT ON MAR/XX/94. ACFT HAD NO UNDOCUMENTED DISCREPANCIES. CAPT SECURED THE ACFT COCKPIT FOR THE RON PER THE ACFT HANDBOOK AND CHKLIST. ACFT WAS PWRED DOWN TO APU PWR ON THE GND SVC BUS. EMER EXIT LIGHTS WERE TURNED OFF AND CHKED OFF BY FO. CAPT AND I RETURNED TO THE ACFT AROUND XA45 AM ON MAR/XY/94 AND PERFORMED A NORMAL PREFLT INSPECTION AND CHKLIST AS DESCRIBED IN THE HANDBOOK FOR THE MD80. NO DISCREPANCIES WERE NOTED. MHT DOES NOT HAVE MAINT PERSONNEL ASSIGNED; SO THE ACFT AND LOGBOOK APPEARED IN THE SAME CONDITION AS WHEN WE LEFT. (LOGBOOK STILL HAD ALL COPIES OF THE PREVIOUS DAY'S RECORD.) WE FLEW FLT FROM MHT TO DCA. UPON ARR AT DCA. THE CAPT WAS GIVEN A MESSAGE TO CALL MHT OPS. MHT OPS THEN INFORMED HIM THAT THE LIGHT BULBS AND COVERS FOR THE FORWARD OVERWING EXITS (ONE ON EACH SIDE) HAD BEEN REMOVED DURING THE NIGHT AND WERE IN MHT OPS AT THAT TIME. NO EXPLANATION WAS GIVEN FOR THE REMOVAL OF THESE ITEMS NOR WAS THE PERSONS WHO REMOVED THEM IDENTED. WE DOUBLECHKED THE ACFT LOGBOOK AND FOUND THAT NO LOGBOOK ENTRY HAD BEEN MADE WHILE THE ACFT WAS IN MHT. OPERATIONAL CHK OF THE MISSING LIGHTS IS A MAINT FUNCTION. DURING OUR PREFLT CHKS WE SAMPLE THE EMER EXIT LIGHTING SYS BY TURNING THEM ON AND OBSERVING THE ILLUMINATION OF THOSE EMER LIGHTS WHICH WE CAN SEE WHILE SEATED AT OUR STATIONS (CAPT PERFORMS THIS CHK NORMALLY).