CAPT OF AN AIRBUS A300 FAILED TO REVIEW OR HAVE ABOARD THE MAINT ACFT LOGBOOK PRIOR TO FLT DUE TO OTHER PREFLT DISTRS.

Narrative

THE CREW ARRIVED AT THE ARPT AND FOUND THE ACFT DEPWRED. EXTERNAL PWR WAS AVAILABLE; BUT NOT BEING UTILIZED. I PERFORMED MY SAFETY CHKS AND THEN LOOKED FOR THE MAINT LOGBOOK. I NOTICED THAT THE LOGBOOK WAS NOT ON THE ACFT. RATHER THAN GOING OUT TO LOOK FOR THE LOGBOOK AND IN VIEW THAT I HAD BEEN THE LAST PLT TO FLY THE ACFT AND KNEW IT TO BE IN THE GREEN; I OPTED TO CONTINUE WITH MY PREFLT AND MADE A MENTAL NOTE TO EVENTUALLY COME BACK TO THE LOGBOOK. I THEN APPLIED PWR TO THE AIRPLANE AND CONTINUED WITH MY PREFLT AND FMS DUTIES. LOADING OF THE ACFT WAS CONTINUING AT A SWIFT PACE AND THE IRU'S WERE ALIGNING. AT THAT POINT; MAINT REMOVED THE EXTERNAL PWR UNIT WITHOUT WARNING OR AN ALTERNATE SOURCE OF PWR. I IMMEDIATELY TRIED TO REESTABLISH PWR USING THE APU. BY THE TIME THAT HAD BEEN DONE; THE IRU'S HAD REVERTED TO INDEPENDENT OP DUE TO THE PWR LOSS. WE THEN TOOK SOME TIME TROUBLESHOOTING THAT PROB AND EVENTUALLY MANAGED TO FIX IT. AT THAT POINT THE LOADING WAS ACCOMPLISHED AND THE REQUIRED PAPERWORK WAS READY FOR REVIEW AND SIGNATURE. THAT WAS SWIFTLY ACCOMPLISHED AND AFTER REPLYING 'REVIEWED' TO THE CHALLENGE OF 'MAINT LOG' IN THE BEFORE ENG START CHKLIST; I PROUDLY BLOCKED OUT ON TIME AND WITHOUT THE REQUIRED MAINT LOG ON BOARD. I ALLOWED MYSELF TO GO OUT OF MY NORMAL ROUTINE. MAINT SHOULD NOT HAVE TAKEN THAT LOGBOOK OUT OF THE ACFT; BUT I SHOULD NOT HAVE PROCEEDED WITH MY ROUTINE UNTIL THAT ITEM HAD BEEN SATISFACTORILY ACCOUNTED FOR. THE SERIES OF DISTRS AND THE PRESSURE TO GET OUT ON TIME RELEGATED THE LOGBOOK TO A FORGOTTEN STATE. MY RESPONSE TO THE CHKLIST WAS AUTOMATIC AND REFLECTED ON THOSE DISTRS.