A CAPT ASSIGNED TO A MAINT VERIFICATION FLT STATES A LINE CREW SHOULD NOT BE ASSIGNED VERIFICATION OR TEST FLTS DUE TO QUALIFICATION.

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WE WERE ASSIGNED IDENT XXXX WHEN INBOUND FROM IDENT YYYY. I HAD NOT SEEN THE IDENT IN OPEN TIME AND QUERIED CM ABOUT IDENT X. THEY ACARS BACK THAT IT WAS A VERIFICATION FLT AND DID NOT KNOW WHAT A VERIFICATION FLT WAS. I WAS TOLD IT WAS A TEST FLT. UPON LNDG; ZZZ1; CALLED AND WAS TOLD THAT THE FLT DISPATCH MGR HAD OK'ED THE FLT. I RPTED FOR IDENT X ON OCT/SUN AND CALLED THE DISPATCHER TO INQUIRE FURTHER. HE SAID HE BELIEVED FLT ABCD WAS A TEST FLT AS THE X CODE WAS THAT USED FOR TEST FLTS AND MAINT WANTED US TO GO OUT OVER THE OCEAN TO CHK OUT A FLAP VIBRATION PROB. I REPLIED THAT TO MY KNOWLEDGE; LINE PLTS WERE NOT TO DO TEST FLYING AND I WOULD NOT BE INVOLVED IN ANY FLYING OVER THE OCEAN TO CHK OUT SYS. CALLED FLT DISPATCH MGR AND HE SAID THAT WAS NOT A TEST FLT. I CALLED THE ZZZ FLT MGR ON DUTY WHO CALLED THE FLT DISPATCH MGR. WHEN I SPOKE WITH THE FLT MGR THE SECOND TIME HIS ADVICE WAS TO FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS OF THE FLT DISPATCH MGR. I DID AND WE FINALLY AGREED TO 1 TKOF AND LNDG; WHICH WE THEN FLEW. I GNDED THE ACFT FOR THE SAME REASON IT WAS PREVIOUSLY GNDED: AN AIRFRAME VIBRATION WITH FLAPS EXTENDED. I WOULD LIKE TO ADD THAT INITIALLY; UPON REACHING THE ACFT; AT THE MAINT CTR; THE MAINT PERSONNEL WERE QUITE SURPRISED TO SEE A LINE CREW FLYING WHAT THEY CLRLY CONSIDERED A TEST FLT; AND THEY REMARKED THAT THIS WAS USUALLY DONE BY ENGINEERING PLTS; BUT THAT THERE WERE NO ENGINEERING PLTS AVAILABLE. IT WOULD APPEAR THAT THE DEFINITION OF THE FLT WAS CHANGED TO A VERIFICATION FLT TO ALLOW FOR THE FLT TO BE COVERED BY A RESERVE LINE CREW AND I AM STILL UNCLR AS TO HOW EXACTLY THIS DIFFERED FROM A TEST FLT.