2010-06 · NASA ASRS report 894774
Air carrier flight crew reports that the QRH; which is part of the aircraft equipment; has a missing page that has been replaced with two photo copies inserted loosely into the book.
My First Officer; noticed that there was some paper sticking out of the QRH. Initially; he thought it was trash and considered tossing it. Then he noticed that it was copies of the front and back of pages 1-1 and 1-2. Kind of important information; page 1-2. I called Maintenance Control; thinking they might know about the missing page. They said call a Chief Pilot and ask if that was an acceptable way to replace missing pages in the QRH. I talked to a Chief Pilot; and he considered the two photocopies of pages 1-1 and 1-2 to be an acceptable replacement for the original. I explained that there were no holes punched in the photocopies; and there are any number of ways that those copies could be lost. There were no notations in the manual or on the copies explaining how or when they had been inserted. I believe that the chance of these critical pages becoming lost is too great to allow this type of substitution. He originally thought that the Captain was required to carry the QRH as a back-up; but I explained that was not required.I believe that the QRH is the most critical manual. To allow missing QRH pages to be replaced with loose pieces of paper is one of the most unprofessional; unsafe practices imaginable. I cannot imagine that the FAA would condone this and the company should immediately stop this practice. I can only envision the fallout if an accident occurred and it came to light that the problem was exacerbated by a missing manual page that was not properly replaced.
I believe that this situation could lead to missing very important procedures in the QRH. I understand that; to complete a flight to a location where the manual can be replaced; that a photocopy is a way to avoid a flight cancellation. However; these pages appear to have been in the manual for quite some time. It had been long enough that there was no entry in the logbook saying that they had been placed there. I find it unacceptable that they were not replaced as soon as possible. Also; requiring the temporary pages; if they are even approved; to be attached to the manual in the proper location should be mandatory. This would avoid them being thrown away or damaged. In the operations manual; under go/no go equipment and manuals it says the QRH is a no go item. It does not say that most of the QRH is required or that there are exceptions involving missing pages. I hope to see this procedure change giving pilots the proper tools and information to operate a flight safely every time; not having to search for missing pages in a manual.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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