A conflict arose between the Captain of a CRJ-200 and her Chief Pilot over the propriety of dispatching a flight with the autopilot deferred inoperative; the Captain believing it would be too fatiguing and the Chief Pilot asserting the flight was appropriate because the MEL did not require the autopilot to be operative. The Captain refused the aircraft and was removed from flight status pending resolution of their differences.
Synopsis
A conflict arose between the Captain of a CRJ-200 and her Chief Pilot over the propriety of dispatching a flight with the autopilot deferred inoperative; the Captain believing it would be too fatiguing and the Chief Pilot asserting the flight was appropriate because the MEL did not require the autopilot to be operative. The Captain refused the aircraft and was removed from flight status pending resolution of their differences.
Narrative
When we arrived at the aircraft; Maintenance was working on fixing the autopilot and the right fuel pump. They ended up deferring both. The inbound crew told us Maintenance had installed a new autopilot two legs prior. They flew the first leg and it worked but the next leg (to where we were picking it up) it had failed again. The Captain also told me the flight directors were not following heading commands. The Mechanic informed us there was a perfectly good spare aircraft at the remote pad that was all ready to go and had no deferred items.I called Control and told them I did not want to take our scheduled ship to ZZZ because the autopilot was deferred and it is a long leg; the return leg would be at night; we had to also go to ZZZ2 which has complicated arrival procedures involving multiple step downs and that the previous pilot said the flight directors were not following heading commands correctly. I did not feel it was safe for us to fly. I strongly suggested we take the spare aircraft as the Mechanic told us it was in excellent condition and ready to go.Control told me to call a Chief Pilot and tell him I was refusing the aircraft and then we would go to plan b; swapping aircrafts. After receiving no reply to a text message I called the Chief Pilot on duty. He was very aggressive with me on the phone and told me I absolutely HAD to take the plane. I was refusing a Maintenance cleared aircraft and that I must take it because I am letting down all of the passengers that want and need to get home. He continued to verbally assault me by questioning my pilot skills and asking me if I thought I was a pilot and whether I could fly a plane without autopilot because according to him I obviously could not do that. He kept trying to force me to take the plane; all the while threatening me if I didn't take it. He told me if I refused the aircraft I would be in serious trouble with the company and that I would have to answer to 'higher ups'. I cannot account for the number of times he told me I 'must' and 'have to' take that aircraft; but it was more times than I can count on two hands. His voice was aggressive and threatening. I felt I was being 'pilot pushed' and coerced into doing something both my First Officer and I decided was not safe. After that phone call he called me again from his cellphone. His words were exactly; 'YOU ARE GOING TO TAKE THAT AIRPLANE; YOU HAVE TO TAKE THAT AIRPLANE'. I told him I had every right to refuse it. He then told me I was removed without pay IMMEDIATELY. Scheduling then called out a reserve Captain to fly the trip. When the crew finally left for the scheduled round trip they were given another aircraft. So; ultimately; the crew never had to take broken ship. However; when they ultimately returned; they were instructed to take broken airplane on the final leg to ZZZ2. The Captain refused the aircraft and without; any further discussion; they were given another ship with a working autopilot. In conclusion; the Chief Pilot threatened me with disciplinary action and verbally abused me; saying that I was a lessor pilot unable to perform my duties. He told me I was failing my passengers and creating unnecessary delays to the operation.I want a written apology for his comments and full back pay. He needs to go to sensitivity training and learn how to conduct himself in a professional manner. He created a hostile work environment in the form of 'pilot pushing'. Threatening and concluding the matter with disciplinary action; removed from flight status with no pay. His threatening and harassing manner should be dealt with immediately so this does not happen again and any pilot with the company can safely and without persecution act within his/her right as a PIC to refuse an aircraft that he/she does not feel safe flying. Human Resources needs to investigate this matter as I know for a fact that another veteran female captain at our airline has experienced similar issues with this Chief Pilot.
Second reporter narrative
I was the Chief Pilot on call. I received a call that evening from a Dispatch Manager who advised that Captain X was refusing an aircraft due to a deferred autopilot. She was just giving me a heads up that they had instructed Captain X to call a Chief Pilot to get better guidance. I waited approximately 15 minutes for a call from Captain X. Once I decided that Captain X wasn't going to call I took it upon myself to call her.When I got hold of Captain X she informed me that she was refusing the aircraft based on the fact that the autopilot was deferred and the scheduled flight 1:45 would be too fatiguing. That comment prompted me to ask how long their duty day had been. She replied that she and her crew had just started their day and just came from the hotel. I then asked what the weather was like. To which she replied she didn't really know. I asked her what Maintenance was saying about the autopilot to which she replied she didn't know. She stated that the previous crew had written the autopilot up upon arrival. I asked what the other crew was reporting to be the problem with the autopilot. She said that they had written; 'Autopilot will not track in HDG or NAV mode.' At one point she accused me of 'Pilot Pushing'. To which I replied that I wasn't. She never once stated that she felt unsafe flying with that particular deferral. I did say; 'You're a pilot and expected to be able to fly without the autopilot on certain occasions.' At that time she adamantly refused the aircraft stating that there was a spare on the pad that they could take. I then spoke with the Dispatcher again and relayed the message that she is refusing to take the aircraft. A short while later I received a call from the Director of Operations who asked what the situation was with Captain X. I stated that she was refusing the aircraft based on the fact that she thought the flight would be to fatiguing given the autopilot deferral. To which he and I agreed there was nothing unsafe; or illegal about the deferral. Based on the fact that the weather was good; they just started their duty day; and the aircraft was completely airworthy I once again called Captain X and urged her to fly the flight as scheduled. When she didn't comply I said I am pulling you off the trip pending further review. In response she threatened to; 'sic a lawyer on me.' I ended the conversation by saying OK. I then coordinated with scheduling to pull her off the trip pending further investigation; and also to re-crew the flight. Shortly thereafter I once again called Captain X and left a message asking her to not leave town; as the station Chief Pilot would be in contact with her to set up a meeting in the morning. The entire conversation was cordial and never seemed to be heated. We did disagree but it was completely respectful.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.