A320 CREW RECEIVES ECAM--BRAKE: ANTI SKID NWS FAULT DURING PUSH BACK. MAINTENANCE DISCOVERS 4 CIRCUIT BREAKERS IN A ROW HAD BEEN LEFT OUT BY MECHANICS DOING ROUTINE MAINTENANCE.
Synopsis
A320 CREW RECEIVES ECAM--BRAKE: ANTI SKID NWS FAULT DURING PUSH BACK. MAINTENANCE DISCOVERS 4 CIRCUIT BREAKERS IN A ROW HAD BEEN LEFT OUT BY MECHANICS DOING ROUTINE MAINTENANCE.
Narrative
PREFLTED ACFT NORMALLY FOR FIRST FLT OF THE DAY. STATION WAS LATE WITH PAPERWORK; THERE WAS A CATERING ISSUE; AND WE WERE HURRYING TO PUSH ON TIME. DURING PUSHBACK AS WE STARTED ENG #1; RECEIVED AN ECAM -- BRAKE: ANTISKID NOSEWHEEL STEERING FAULT WITH THE ACTION 'BRAKES; LIMIT TO 1000 PSI.' BY THIS TIME WE HAD REACHED THE TXWY; AND THE TUG DRIVER ASKED US TO SET BRAKES. CAPT SET BRAKES AND ADVISED THE DRIVER TO REMAIN ON THE HEADSET. I CHKED THE QRH ABNORMAL AND EMER PROCS; NOTED NOTHING PERTINENT. CAPT SUGGESTED I CHK THE COMPUTER RESET SECTION; WHICH I DID. LOCATED A SMALL BOX SIMPLY CALLED 'BSCU' WITH A REF TO FOM. LOOKED UP THIS SECTION; IT INSTRUCTED US TO RESET THE ANTISKID NOSEWHEEL SWITCH. WE DID THIS; WITH NO EFFECT. THERE IS A NOTE IN THIS FLT MANUAL SECTION REGARDING CIRCUIT BREAKERS; BUT THE MESSAGE THIS NOTE REFERENCED WAS NOT THE MESSAGE WE HAD. IT MENTIONS 'BRAKE: BSCU 1(2) FAULT OR SYS 1(2) FAULT' ONLY. OUR MESSAGE DID NOT MATCH THIS; SO I TOLD THE CAPT THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE TO DO. WE WERE BLOCKING AN ACTIVE TXWY WITH AN ACFT BEHIND US; AND THE CAPT ELECTED TO HAVE THE TUG PULL US BACK IN TO THE GATE. A MECH MET THE ACFT AND; AFTER CONFERRING WITH MAINT CTL; DISCOVERED 4 CIRCUIT BREAKERS OUT ON THE AFT BREAKER PANEL. ROW M; ABOVE THE JUMPSEAT. THEY WERE LABELED 'BRAKE SYS #1 AND SYS #2 INDICATOR AND CONTROL.' ONCE THE BREAKERS WERE RESET; THE FAULT CLRED AND THE BITE TESTS WERE GOOD. MECH SIGNED THE BOOK; AND WE DEPARTED; REST OF FLT WAS NORMAL. BECAUSE MAINT WAS PERFORMED ON THE ACFT OVERNIGHT; IT SEEMS LIKELY THAT THE MECH WHO DID THE DAILY CHK LEFT THESE 4 BREAKERS IN THE PULLED POSITION. I DO NOT BELIEVE THEY 'POPPED.' THIS MEANS THAT BOTH THE CAPT AND I MUST HAVE MISSED THEM DURING OUR COCKPIT PREPARATION. ALTHOUGH NOT ANY EXCUSE; THERE WERE A COUPLE OF FACTORS THAT 'HELPED' THIS TO OCCUR. 1) THE PAPER WAS LATE TO THE ACFT; AND WE WERE FEELING RUSHED. IN ADDITION; A FEW MINS PRIOR TO SCHEDULED PUSH; THE FLT ATTENDANT INFORMED US OF A CATERING ISSUE; SO WE WAITED FOR THAT TO BE RESOLVED BEFORE PUSHING A FEW MINS LATE. DURING THIS TIME WE WERE WORKING QUICKLY AND PROBABLY DID NOT PAY CLOSE ENOUGH ATTN TO THE CIRCUIT BREAKER PANEL ON PREFLT. 2) THE 4 CIRCUIT BREAKERS IN QUESTION ARE GROUPED TOGETHER ON THE BOTTOM ROW OF THE AFT PANEL. THERE IS A COLLARED BREAKER IMMEDIATELY TO THE L; AND VERY CLOSE TO THE R OF THESE BREAKERS. THERE ARE ADDITIONAL COLLARED BREAKERS IN THE VICINITY. MOST OF THE COLLARS ON THESE BREAKERS ARE WHITE; WHICH MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO SEE THE WHITE BAND ON THE PULLED BREAKERS -- ESPECIALLY IN THE DARK; SURROUNDED BY OTHER BREAKERS. 3) THE BSCU RESET PROC IS INCOMPLETE; AND DIFFICULT TO FIND. YOU HAVE TO FIGURE OUT IT IS A BSCU PROB; FIND IT IN THE QRH; THEN REFER TO THE FLT MANUAL WHICH DOESN'T REFERENCE THE EXACT MESSAGE WE HAD DISPLAYED. IT THEN SAYS THAT YOU 'CAN' TRY RESETTING BREAKERS IN CERTAIN CASES; BUT DOESN'T SAY HOW TO DO THAT; WHICH BREAKERS TO RESET; OR WHERE THEY ARE. OBVIOUSLY; WE NEED TO BE MORE CAREFUL AND PAY MORE ATTN WHILE PREFLTING THE CIRCUIT BREAKER PANELS. BEYOND THAT; I SUGGEST WE CHANGE THE COLOR OF THE LARGE COLLARS ON UNUSED BREAKERS TO BLACK. THUS; ANY WHITE BANDS ON POPPED OR PULLED BREAKERS WOULD BE THE ONLY WHITE ON THE PANEL; AND WOULD BE VERY OBVIOUS -- EVEN IN THE DARK. THAT AFT BREAKER PANEL IS A MISH-MASH OF PULLED BREAKERS; COLLARS; EMPTY SPOTS; AND OTHER STUFF; AND CAN BE DIFFICULT TO PROPERLY PREFLT. IN ADDITION; THE SECTION ON BSCU RESETS COULD BE MODIFIED TO CONTAIN A MORE COMPLETE LIST OF MESSAGES THAT COULD BE GENERATED BY THIS FAULT; AND WHERE THE BREAKERS ARE TO RESET IT.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.