A B767 WAS DE-ICE AND APPLYING PWR FOR TKOF WHEN A FAA INSPECTOR STOPPED THE FLT BECAUSE THE ICE PELLET DE-ICE HOLD OVER TIME WAS EXCEEDED.
Synopsis
A B767 WAS DE-ICE AND APPLYING PWR FOR TKOF WHEN A FAA INSPECTOR STOPPED THE FLT BECAUSE THE ICE PELLET DE-ICE HOLD OVER TIME WAS EXCEEDED.
Narrative
MY SCHEDULED FEB/FRI/07 FLT FROM JFK TO ZZZ2 WAS CHANGED ON RELATIVELY SHORT NOTICE BY THE FAA TO A LATER DEP AND AN ETOPS EVALUATION. I WAS GIVING OPERATING EXPERIENCE TRAINING TO A CAPT AND ANOTHER CAPT WAS PERFORMING AS RELIEF OFFICER. WE ARRIVED AT THE JFK ARPT AT APPROX XA45 AND PUSHED THE ACFT AT XJ08. THE LATE PUSH WAS DUE TO AN ACFT CHANGE AND NUMEROUS TESTING SCENARIOS GIVEN TO OUR CREW AND MAINT PERSONNEL BY AN FAA INSPECTOR. THE SCENARIOS AND THEIR IMPACT ON OUR FLT BECAME CONFUSING BECAUSE THE INSPECTOR WANTED LOGBOOK ENTRIES AND COMPLIANCE THAT WOULD HAVE GNDED THE ACFT DUE TO THE ACTUAL WX WE WOULD BE FLYING INTO. I REPEATEDLY URGED THE INSPECTOR TO COMPLETE HIS SCENARIOS DUE TO THE LONG DAY AND DEPART JFK BEFORE THE ARR OF POTENTIALLY 'SHOW STOPPING' WX. AT PUSHBACK THE ATIS CALLED FOR LIGHT ICE PELLETS AND -4 DEGS C. AFTER THE PUSH; WE CONFIGURED THE ACFT FOR DEICING/ANTI-ICING; AND THE PROCESS BEGAN. WHEN THE ANTI-ICING WAS COMPLETED; WE EXPECTED GND PERSONNEL TO CONTACT US VIA HEADSET. INSTEAD; AFTER A FEW MINS OF WHAT SEEMED LIKE NO ACTIVITY AND NO PRECIP; WE CALLED AND GOT THE COM RPT OVER THE DEICING FREQ. WE WERE RPTED TO BE FREE ON CONTAMINANTS. THE FINAL APPLICATION OF TYPE 4 FLUID AT 100% BEGAN AT XJ23. SHORTLY AFTER THAT; WE BEGAN OUR TAXI TO RWY 4L. WHILE ON TXWY B ABEAM RWY 31L; THE CAPT BEING TRAINED IN THE L SEAT (THE OPERATING EXPERIENCE CAPT); WANTED TO EXTEND THE FLAPS AND CONFIGURE THE ACFT SINCE THE PRECIP HAD STOPPED. I AGREED WITH HIS OBSERVATION; BUT SUGGESTED WAITING UNTIL TXWY K BECAUSE OF THE CONTAMINATED TXWY. SHORTLY AFTER THAT; I ASKED THE RELIEF OFFICER TO DO A CABIN CHK EVEN THOUGH IT NOW WAS NOT REQUIRED. HE RPTED THE WINGS CLR AS WE WERE ACCOMPLISHING OUR TAXI CHKLIST. SHORTLY AFTER THIS AND A COUPLE MINS PRIOR TO TKOF; I COMMENTED THAT IT STILL LOOKED CLR OUTSIDE AND RELIEF OFFICER RPTED THAT OUR 25 MIN TIME ALLOWANCE ENDED AT XJ48. THIS TIME WAS NOT REQUIRED AS LONG AS THERE WAS NO PRECIP. AFTER COMPLETING THE BEFORE TKOF CHK AND TAXIING ON THE RWY; I OBSERVED AGAIN THAT IT LOOKED FINE OUTSIDE; AND WE WERE GOING TO DEPART. AS THE THROTTLES WERE ABOUT TO BE ADVANCED AT XJ49; THE FAA INSPECTOR STOPPED THE TKOF. HE ACCUSED US OF VIOLATING OUR HOLDOVER TIME WHICH WAS A NON ISSUE. AFTER BLOCKING IN AT THE GATE AT XK25; THE INSPECTOR DISAPPEARED AND HELD NO DISCUSSION REGARDING THE EVENT. THE R/O AND MYSELF FLEW TO STN THE NEXT NIGHT; AND WHILE ON LAYOVER DISCOVERED THAT THE INSPECTOR WAS SEEKING ACTION AGAINST US AS A CREW. AS CAPT; I MADE A JUDGEMENT CALL TO WHICH I WAS ENTITLED; AND ALL PROCS WERE ACCOMPLISHED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE BOEING'S FCOM AND ACR'S FOM. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 727377: I WAS SCHEDULED AS RELIEF OFFICER ON A FLT. I WENT BACK TO CHK THE STATUS OF THE WINGS AND ENSURE WE WERE CLR OF CONTAMINATION. I RETURNED TO THE FLT DECK AT APPROX XJ43 AND INFORMED THE CAPT THAT THE WINGS LOOKED GOOD. AT THIS POINT BOTH CAPT'S WERE OBSERVING AND DISCUSSING THAT THE PRECIP HAD ENDED. THIS PROMPTED A COMMENT FROM THE INSPECTOR; 'WHAT DOES THE ATIS SAY?' TO WHICH I RESPONDED 'LIGHT ICE PELLETS.' WE WERE NOW APCHING THE RWY AND I SENSED THAT MAYBE THE INSPECTOR BELIEVED THE ATIS WAS CTLING OR WASN'T FAMILIAR THAT OUR FOM ALLOWED THE PIC TO USE OBSERVED ACTUAL CONDITIONS; SO I MADE A CALL OF '2 MINS TO GO' TO OUR ORIGINAL XJ48 LIMIT; AT WHICH POINT THE CAPT RESPONDED 'I THINK WE ARE FINE.' FROM MY VANTAGE POINT; I STARTED TO SENSE THE DISCONNECT BTWN THE INSPECTOR AND PIC AND THERE HAD BEEN NO CHALLENGE OR DIRECT COM TO THE CAPT FROM THE INSPECTOR; AND THE UNDIRECTED COMMENT ABOUT THE ATIS WAS LOST IN THE TIME COMPRESSION OF EVENTS; COMPLETING OF ACFT CONFIGN AND CHKLISTS. AGAIN I WAS SENSING UNEXPRESSED DISSENT FROM THE INSPECTOR SO I MADE A 1 MIN CALL AT XJ47 AND A 1 MIN LATE CALL AT XJ49 BUT NOT OUT OF CONCERN OF SAFETY; OR CONTAMINATION AS I HAD CHKED THE WINGS JUST AS THE PRECIP ABATED; OR SAFE OPERATING PRACTICE OR VIOLATION OF ANYTHING. WHEN THE INSPECTOR SAID 'STOP' IT WAS THE FIRST TIME HE HAD COMMUNICATED ANY DISAGREEMENT OF CAPT'S ASSESSMENT OF THE WX OR DECISION TO TAKE OFF. WE THEN PROCEEDED TO TAXI BACK TO THE GATE AND ARRIVED AT XK25 AT WHICH POINT THE INSPECTOR ASKED ME FOR MY LAPTOP AND READ THE SECTION OF CHAPTER OF THE FOM ON ICE PELLETS BUT NO OTHER PARTS.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.