A Line Mechanic reported he was the only Mechanic available; working five days of extended hours with little rest and constant interruptions from Maintenance Control. A First Officer adds his report about the same Line Mechanic's fatigue; confusion and the lack of adequate rest requirement rules for mechanics.
Synopsis
A Line Mechanic reported he was the only Mechanic available; working five days of extended hours with little rest and constant interruptions from Maintenance Control. A First Officer adds his report about the same Line Mechanic's fatigue; confusion and the lack of adequate rest requirement rules for mechanics.
Narrative
[On this week]; I was in ZZZ. I was the only Mechanic for Company X in the area. Mr. Y was the other Mechanic; but had given his two weeks notice and the company knew that his last day would be three days earlier. I began work [on my first day] knowing I was going to be the only Mechanic on duty to run the day and night shift. Two days later; Aircraft X; had broken down with a navigation light issue and Maintenance Control and I decided to ground the airplane and I would work on it that night. We then sent Aircraft Y to ZZZ1 for the run. I worked Aircraft X that night; installing a navigation light switch; which fixed only one of the write-ups. I then continued to work on the other write-up on Aircraft X. Next morning; Maintenance Control decided to make Aircraft Y a stand-by plane and was sent to ZZZ2. On its return; Aircraft Y also had been written-up.I was told by Maintenance Control to get Aircraft X deferred; so it could make the run to ZZZ1 that night. I proceeded to defer the other write up on Aircraft X. I received a phone call from Maintenance Control stating that the ZZZ1 run had been canceled due to weather. When the stand-by flight crew arrived at the station and Maintenance Control told them they did not have an airplane for them on this morning. After being aware of Aircraft X not being used; I began work on Aircraft X again. We had a winter storm come through [on the fourth] night/next morning. I finally finished launching Aircraft Z to ZZZ3 and Aircraft A to ZZZ4. I had decided after launching the planes that I was going to go home since I had not been home in three days; and had only gotten a few hours of sleep here and there; not a consistent sleep because company Maintenance Control continued to call at every hour. I did not put the airplanes back together before going home because I was not aware of this flight when leaving for home. I was very fatigued and did not feel safe to work on an airplane in this condition. What happened last week could have been avoided with just another Mechanic being sent here. I was pushed beyond my limit and could not go anymore. What the people at Maintenance Control were pressuring me to do was pushing the limits of safety. I could not think straight and was barely keeping my eyes open. Also; to go work on the planes I was going to have to use a Belt Loader; which I do use on a daily basis; but the winds were gusting at 30-mph and I did not feel comfortable gaining access to the planes. I feel no one in Maintenance Control could care less about the person on the line doing the work in the weather; they just want to be able to say that a plane is up. They also need to let the Mechanic do his job and not tell us what is broke on the plane. I think it is very hard to fix an airplane by just talking to a Captain and saying 'You need to change this.' Aircraft X had an air turnback on my first day; with the altimeter and IAS flagged.Maintenance Control called me and recommended that I check and make sure that the pitot covers were not still on the pitot tubes. I was more offended than anything after being told this. What fixed the plane was a new Air Data Computer (ADC) from my stock. This is something that has happened more and more with the new people coming into Maintenance Control. I did tell the maintenance controllers that I was tired and needed sleep. They just kept insisting that I get out there and fix those planes. I was also asked while the storm was going on; what the status of Aircraft Y was and why I was not working on it. The pressure on the mechanics from these guys is bad and can become frustrating and irritating. This results in mechanics having to fight back and cause arguments between Maintenance Control and mechanics.
Second reporter narrative
I was to preflight Aircraft X for a reposition flight to ZZZ5. Upon reaching the cockpit I found the circuit breaker panel (I think it was 122VU) not secure. I tried to contact ZZZ Mechanic X; but could not. I then contacted Captain X. Sadly; we also found that a deferral had not been transferred to the Departure Deviation List (DDL); and he; [Mechanic X]; had signed the Airworthiness Release (AR). We decided to complete as much of the preflight as I could and during this time we would continue to try and contact Mechanic X. When we reached our limit on how much we could preform we then contacted Maintenance Control. It was then determined that we could not continue the flight at this time and canceled the flight until Mechanic X could be reached and he could address the issue.It is simple; Mechanic X was on duty for at least the previous 72-hours straight and had not been home for anything. He was beyond tired. He also had two different airplanes with complex maintenance issues and no help. One was Aircraft X with a navigation light circuit breaker problem and the other; Aircraft Y; with an aileron trim actuator issue. He was trying to preform his duties but was being redirected and constantly being contacted by Maintenance Control about the status of both aircraft. He became confused and fatigued.I think the company needs to find a way to track when a Mechanic comes on duty and how long they have been on duty. When a Mechanic is reaching a certain time on duty the company should have someone available to provide relief. Also; some rules should be in place for the mechanics similar to the rest requirements that apply to pilots so that the Mechanic can get peaceful rest.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.