Another Fine Job By St Mae

[jetman3133]

You know 700....why is it that everybody points a finger on this Alabama MTC situation. I do understand the outsource of jobs cost everyone, but you may be missing some of the other things that go on. Aircraft from the hangers at our own MTC stations, with 18 hours or more time on the ground, ETR bumping over 8 hrs.
Which causes major problems accommodating revenue customers. Who is answering to that? And what about all of the mel's that are routed into mtc stations every day, over and over again, and they get....differed for either conflicting work loads, no parts avail, and so on. I know everyone is working hard and doing the best they can with what they have, but we need to take care of our own house too.

I understand that change is evident, and everyone needs to vent, I just hope it all works out so that all the employees can retire. Have a good week everyone!

 

[A320 Driver]

A320DRIVER,

Why are you such a proponent of ST MAE?? Is there a special interest or hidden agenda involved? You seem to defend them regardless of their track record with UAIR aircraft??

If you indeed are flying these "vendor specials" you BETTER take a keen interest in the maintenance of the aircraft as performed by MAE !! I don't know who is telling you that everything is great with MAE but I'm afraid you have been DUPED

Keep this in mind my pilot friend......YOU hit the dirt first h34r:

My special interest is the survival of U. It is not just my job, it is my career. It is very difficult to just sit here while you guys run down a maintenance vendor for U aircraft on a public forum. I know, I know, some of you just can't wait for the day the paychecks stop coming, but for God's sake leave the rest of us who genuinely care about this company out of it. Yeah your ticked off, big deal. Join the rest of us. At least you got an arbitrators hearing coming up this week. Maybe this thing will be finalized soon and I can stop cringing every time an aircraft comes out of S check waiting for one of you to pull the knife across the throat of MAE again.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Your beef is not with MAE. It's with those who choose to re-interpret your contract.

A320 Driver B)

p.s. I don't have stock in MAE...or U either.

 

[TheLarkAscending]

It is very difficult to just sit here while you guys run down a maintenance vendor for U aircraft on a public forum.

It is just as difficult for a customer to read that an alleged pilot is accusing an alleged maintenance person of possible door/slide sabotage on a public forum. Ever think of that?

 

[ClueByFour]

From this pax perspective, FWIW, MAE proved their proverbial worth when the first AC out of S-check suffered inflight hydraulic system problems.

That said, I'm openly on the IAM's side on this--I think US behavior in RE: the outsourcing thing is both unethical and will eventually proven to be illegal (or, in violation of the IAM-M contract). I also think that farming maintenance to a third-party without draconian (eg, the way Southwest does it) oversight is insane--gee, it's not like there are that many shops in Alabama that US might threaten to take its business to....

 

[2BorNot2B]

Good grief A320 Driver ... why don't you just explain to 700 and the now interested "other folks" on this board how you were involved in the Flight Test and Maint. ferry of this aircraft, and how you feel justified in your remarks. After all ... you made the post!

From my past experience ... if you are PHL based, you flew these flights as either a Block Holder on the bid sheet or a reserve either accepting or assigned the flights. Or, perhaps as 700 "accuses" a check pilot (he says management, not the case at all). In any event, what matter ... you elected to make the post and he confronted you! Just give everyone a clear explaination!

We have a great number of loyal customers on this board and they are reading each and every one of these posts. I am sure they are waiting to hear from you!

2B

 

[A320 Driver]

It is just as difficult for a customer to read that an alleged pilot is accusing an alleged maintenance person of possible door/slide sabotage on a public forum. Ever think of that?

An EXCELLENT point. I spoke out of turn. Emotions are terrible things. Mine get the best of me every time. Frankly, I don't know what to think. I'm very upset that customers are inconveinienced...again. We need each and every one of them.

A320 Driver `

 

[to much time to quit]

You have no idea how sorry I am that I ever sat down at my computer this evening.

You don't know how sorry the rest of us are that you sat down also. Making false accusations about maintenance like that. You disgust me and many others. :angry: Do us all a favor and log off for awhile and go to sleep.

 

[E-TRONS]

A320PILOT,

If MAE did things the way they are supposed to be done then the planes performance immediately thereafter would reflect it....would you not agree? If that were the case at hand then you would not even hear about if from me. But it is not.

Now consider this.....What if the IAM loses the arbitration? Then you will have MAE and possibly TIMCO as your maintenance providers. We are not speaking of minor or routine issues encountered during the flt-day. We are talking about overhaul....teardown, inspection, repair-modify and reassembly. And you can bet your hat that it is the intention of the execs to farmout 100% heavy maintenance just as UAL has. If you are comfortable with that notion then fine.

I enjoy my job and no I do not want to kill the company. But at what point do you demand accountability amid 2 rounds of concessions and facing a 3rd??
The company is attempting to dispose of our livelihoods thru vendoring out our work. I guess we are expected to go down without so much as a peep while execs bail out with millions?? Not a chance <_< .

Going back to the door issue.....exactly what side of the plane did the crew board the aircraft from the ramp? Is it possible that they boarded from the opposite side thus latching and arming that particular door only?? A door without a problem??Quite possible indeed although it would be a breach of protocol to arm only one door. It's entirely up to the crew doing a test hop. So the problematic door could have been latched prior to the crew's arrival thereby not presenting a problem. Anything is possible.

Safety and quality come first in my book....and they do not fade because of their cost!! Because 99% is simply not good enough. It must be 100% correct B) .

 

[A320 Driver]

It was a mistake for 700 to start this thread. It was a bigger mistake for me to respond to it. This is not the time or place to discuss these issues and nothing good will come of any of this. For my part in this, I am deeply sorry. My goal was to calm fears. The result was quite the opposite. This much is true: A/C 704 was a good ship when she was parked in CLT today. I have no knowledge or clue what happened after that.

I'm placing myself in the cornfield for good. You folks have at it. I've had enough.


Over and out.

 

[GeezLouis]

These 3rd Party Maintenance Companies like ST MAE sounds, are scary!

The company I work for (which I won't name), had a maintenance representative at our hangar last week overseeing a C-Check we were performing on his company's airplane. Prior to arriving at our facility, this aircraft had been de-pickled from the desert, and sent to another 3rd Party Maintenance Facility (which will remain nameless) to prepare it for the ferry flight to our facility. Seems that someone at the 3rd Party Facility had installed the left main landing gear uplock incorrectly, which could have possibly caused the landing gear to jam on retract. After talking with the Aircraft representative, he told us that this particular 3rd Party facility had very few A & P mechanics employed, and many of them were fresh out of A & P school. He explained that while his job is to oversee maintenance of his aircraft, it is very difficult to watch every job, all the time. He also said that what makes it worse is most of the time, if an employee of these facilities is unsure that they performed the job correctly, they won't say anything for fear of disciplinary action! My question is this: Is the money USAir saves using these companies with shady track records, worth the fallout that could happen if another accident happened? In my opinion, cheaper is not always better!

 

[700UW]

I have every right to start this thread, the flying public needs to know what kind of vendors US uses to overhaul the planes they outsourced against a legal and binding contract.

Remember Valujet? Remember Air Midwest?

 

[delldude]

regarding the issue of a MED causing a problem out of check at MAE......i must tell you after having performed many,many q-c-b-and a checks over the years...i have never seen an instance of something as crucial as a MED bought off if it wasn't truly able to open and close and latch with any huge resistance. our inspection dept. is sometimes a pain in the butt when trying to get things accomplished...but they are a pain in the butt for one explicit reason-passenger safety.bottom line....no if's and's or but's.
whether its a service entry or main entry door..that door is an emergency exit door in the direst of times and situations...
sure we have had rig problems from time to time....but as i stated, inspection is quite critical regarding door rigs........ more often than not the biggest door issue is pressurization leakage relating to the hull leak down rate....easily corrected by seal and frame adjustment.

 

[PITMTC]

I have every right to start this thread, the flying public needs to know what kind of vendors US uses to overhaul the planes they outsourced against a legal and binding contract.

Remember Valujet? Remember Air Midwest?

A/C 423 is sitting in CLT today trying to get repaired from a diversion it had for a repeat pressurization problem previously repaired by us.
A/C 518 is sitting in PIT today trying to get repaired from a repeat pressurization loss problem that goes back over 5 months which was repaired by us multiple times.
These things will happen. I don't like the fact that our work is contracted out or that these things happen, but people who live in glass houses should not throw stones. I have learned that the hard way.

 

[oldiebutgoody]

It worked fine when it was parked.

A320 Driver

Not necessarily. Doors are NOT normally armed for nonrevenue ferry flights. Unless this door was specifically preflighted by the crew (something I seriuosly doubt, since I've never done it), it MAY NOT have been working before it left the shop for CLT.

 

[local 12 proud]

You say what the heck you want 700, but that A/C was just fine when it was left on the maintenance ramp. Doors worked great through test flight and ferry.

A320 Driver

a320 are you implying sabotage by maintenance? what experience do yo have other than kicking the tires and shining your mini mag light for the obvious? you see it's quite clear by your post that anyone can fix the plane, and to a certain extent your right as long as they have someone willing to sign off the work, but from a person who has worked at the hack shop third party you get what you pay for....CAREFUL 320 WHAT YOU WISH FOR, YOU MAY GET IT ! :unsure: