After reading the judges finding, more information comes to light. According to the MEL, "Ground personnel should be instructed to only assist during the closing of the door..." , "Stand clear of door when opening(door opens faster). If the PIC allowed the door to open unassisted, that door would have bounced off the ramp. Possibly causing damage to said door.

But if the MEL says to let it bounce...then maybe it's not that big a deal.

The PIC authority extends to taking into account extenuating circumstances, which combined with a legit MEL, might create a problem.

I'm not sure the PIC has carte-blanche to simply refuse an aircraft because he does not like a particular MEL. IMO he needs a good reason...other than just the exercise of his ath-or-i-tay.

Perhaps there's more to this story, but in any case it's always better to have a precedent (correct spelling) that errs on the side of caution.

Or...

P-R-E-C-E-D-E-N-T. :)

Seems simple to me, but I'm willing to make reasonable accommodations to safely work around the occasional glitch. Call the station on the land-line before you leave (perfectly reasonable delay) or open the galley door when you get there to talk to them.

I would draw the line at normalized deviance, where the same problem recurs repeatedly over time. Maybe he saw the same problem too many times.

Comair hired him to make decisions. He made one.

Many companies hire many people to make decisions. Hundreds or maybe thousands get fired every day for making the wrong decision. Being a captain at a regional airline does not grant you dictator-like powers anywhere within 500 yards of an airplane.

We are granted the most leeway (more than most other professions) during in-flight operations because it may not always be practical or expedient to consult with other folks.

Apply some reasonable common sense...you have to comply with things like the OPSPEC and MEL at a minimum. But in the interest of economics, airlines are not going to like it if you create your own standards, higher than those approved by the FAA. Of course you take into account extenuating factors, but if there are none you usually need to go by the book.

I don't think the door is a big deal. However, intimitating a PIC and taking away the authority we have is wrong. It is his certificate on the line not the airlines.

One of the PIC's biggest responsibilities is risk management...considering all information, past experiences, and written guidance in order to best manage the risk to the airplane, passengers, operation, and crew's certificates.

To me, it sounds like that's exactly what this captain did.

Yes, at times your decision may differ from dispatch or management...but they're trying to run an airline and you're trying to get an airplane full of people that you're responsible for safely from point A to point B.

Kudos to this captain for leaving the parking brake set and risking his job for what he thought would provide the best and safest transportation for his passengers.

In the past I can think of only a few times when I had a MEL item deferred and I would not take the plane flying. As I am sure most MELs do, our's state the MEL does not relieve the operator from determining if it is safe and that operators must exercise necessary operational control it ensure safety.

Without getting into detail, I'm SURE this PIC was terminated for more than this one event. The door operation without assist is not a major problem. Letting it slam to the ground, in my opinion, IS. If you are able to get hold of ops prior to arrival, having two ramp agents open it is an excellent plan. Terminating a PIC because he wouldn't fly an aircraft with no APU, is wrong. It's not really the flying that's an issue, but that pesky 2+ hour taxi in Jfk in 100*, that's the safety issue. These sh$tboxes are uncomfortable as is, pack 50 piggys in there and it's horrible. NO APU on hot days don't bother coming to my gate in Ny. Weighing the Pro's and Con's is our jobs.. Managng risk. CA and FO's alike. On a side note I hope he comes back to Comair and takes an early out, that would be perfect!!!!!