FLT CREW OF F100 FELT COMPANY IMPROPERLY CHARGED A DELAY TO THEM FOR REQUESTING OIL SVC. TRUE CAUSES WERE SECURITY; MEL AND HAZMAT RELATED.
Synopsis
FLT CREW OF F100 FELT COMPANY IMPROPERLY CHARGED A DELAY TO THEM FOR REQUESTING OIL SVC. TRUE CAUSES WERE SECURITY; MEL AND HAZMAT RELATED.
Narrative
DELAY TO CREW FOR HAZMAT COMPLIANCE. MY FLT ORD-ZZZ DEPARTED LATE DUE TO ACFT ARRIVING LATE COMBINED WITH MULTIPLE MEL ITEMS AND A HAZMAT SIT. THE AGENTS WANTED TO BOARD RIGHT AWAY BUT WE HAD MEL ITEMS THAT HAD TO BE ADDRESSED. ONE BEING A BLOCKED FORWARD LAVATORY. NOT WANTING TO BOARD IN CASE OUR DECISION WAS THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO USE LAVATORY DURING THE FLT. I ELECTED TO DELAY BOARDING FOR A FEW MINS. WE THEN GRACIOUSLY AGREED TO NOT USE THE LAVATORY FOR OUR 1 HR 46 MIN FLT. DURING THIS TIME I NOTICED AN ALERT FOR LOW OIL ON AN ENG. (NO ACTION TAKEN YET.) AT THIS TIME A SHARP FLT ATTENDANT NOTICED A PAX WITH WHAT APPEARED TO BE AN OXYGEN TUBE AROUND THEIR HEAD ATTACHED TO WHAT LOOKED LIKE OXYGEN. I WAS INFORMED THIS MAY BE A NEBULISER. I CONTACTED DISPATCH FOR A PATCH TO THE HAZMAT OFFICE. I WAS THEN GIVEN A NUMBER FOR AN ENVIRONMENTAL SUPVR. HIS PRESENCE WAS THEN REQUESTED AT THE GATE TO VERIFY THE CONTENT OF THIS DEVICE. IN THE MEANTIME A CUSTOMER SVC REPRESENTATIVE SAID SIMPLY THAT BECAUSE THIS PAX HAS TRAVELED BEFORE WITH THIS DEVICE EVERYTHING WAS OK. I ELECTED TO WAIT FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL 'SUPVR TO VERIFY. THE ENVIRONMENTAL SUPVR WAS VERY HELPFUL IN RESOLVING MY DILEMMA. HE FIRST OF ALL CONFIRMED THAT THIS WAS NOT OXYGEN. SECONDLY; HE INFORMED ME THAT A PRESCRIPTION WAS REQUIRED TO USE THIS NARCOTIC. AFTER DETERMINING THAT ALL SAFETY CONCERNS WERE COVERED I ELECTED TO GO. WHILE ALL THIS WAS GOING ON; I ASKED FOR OIL TO BE ADDED TO ONE OF OUR ENGS WHICH HAD AN ALERT. I FELT THAT THIS WAS MAXIMIZING OUR DEAD TIME WAITING TO RESOLVE MY HAZMAT DILEMMA. ULTIMATELY; THE DELAY WAS CHARGED TO THE FLT CREW FOR REQUESTING OIL TO BE ADDED EVEN THOUGH QUANTITY WAS AT OR ABOVE DISPATCH LIMITS. I PERSONALLY FIND THIS VERY OFFENSIVE TO HAVE A DELAY BLAMED ON SOMETHING THAT WAS NOT EVEN AN ISSUE. OIL WAS SVCED BECAUSE WE HAD AMPLE TIME AWAITING RESULTS FROM THE HAZMAT ISSUE. SECONDLY; AFTER OUR COMPANY WAS FINED AND ACKNOWLEDGED CRIMINAL FELONY CHARGES IN THE PAST FOR HAZMAT IRREGULARITIES I FIND THAT THIS IS LEADING TO A CORPORATE CULTURE OF PUTTING ON TIME DEPS BEFORE SAFETY. WITH JUST A FEW MINS OF PREFLT WE SORTED MULTIPLE MEL ITEMS; SECURITY AND HAZMAT ISSUES. WE ARRIVED BACK ON OUR SEQUENCE RIGHT ON SCHEDULE. WITH SETTING BLAME FOR LATE DEP WE ARE GOING DOWN A DANGEROUS PATH. WE ARE ALL RESPONSIBLE TO CHANGE THINGS. I HOPE THIS SAFETY RPT OPENS SOMEONE'S EYES.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.