Originally Posted by
Mason32
Well, it's just a matter of time until they try to implement this here too. This goes beyond flight crew placarding which I think almost all of us do, so we can continue on to a MX base. There seem to be very few that actually have pilots entering the MEL deferral, coordinating with MX Ops, and then flying the plane for however long the MEL says it can go before having it fixed or even looked at by a MX technician.
Some seem to think this is part of their job simply because their company says it is. These are probably the same folks who don't read their contracts and have no clue about the provisions within the RLA for changes to working conditions or rules.
I'm just glad that madness hasn't infected our pilot group yet.... Although with the number of new flow thru's lately who knows if we'll still have as solid a pilot group in another few years.
In short, their pilot group had never done this before. It was always a MX function. The company had unilaterally transferred the duties of another labor union employee (mechanics) to the pilots. Contracts aside... That's a no no under the RLA last I checked. Hope they fight it and win.
Guess this must be an Eagle thing. So if it not "balanced" as you say then maintenance gets to come out and put it in the book again on the MEL? If an item can be flight crew placarded and "balanced" then it is usually a very minor item anyway. Are you saying you would rather have maintenance come out again just to confirm the MEL? They are not going to fix it anyway, balanced or not, unless they have enough time if it can be deferred.