So we're pushing off the gate......

[Cruise]

and a minute later the call button lights up.



Me: Hello?

F/A: There is a passenger telling me the #1 engine (pax said #1) has a plug in the intake.

Me: Aroo? The #1?....the left side?....

F/A: That's what he's telling me.

Me: Hold on.....I'll be right back....

Me to Capt: I tell him what's going on and we cancel the push and do a gate return.

Me to F/A: Hello.....yes, we're going back to the gate and we'll check it out. (knowing damn well there was no plug in the intake since I had just done a pre-flight).

After we get back to the gate I exit the plane and check out the #1 and the #2 just to be "extra cautious." Suprise, suprise, everything is perfectly fine and no plugs to be found.

I get back in the plane and speak with the passenger directly and ask him to point out what he was talking about. He tells me that when he boarded, there was a plug installed and he'd been watching it....no one had removed it since he's been on the plane. I explain to him everything is fine and then make a P/A using the F/A's intercom to the remainder of the pax that everything is fine......(except we're now over 1/2 hour late since, in that time, we lost our push crew and had to wait for them to return).



Moral of the story is basically to Cover Your A$$. The Capt. and I knew darn well there were no intake plugs installed....but, to keep everyone calm/ happy, we went back to the gate and checked everything out again. In the end, it all worked out with the exception of the late departure/ arrival.

Of course, this happened on the last leg of the last day of the week for us.....oh well.....that's just the way this week has been going.

[Bigey]

Interesting read. I'd appreciate the guys concern and cautiousness and i think you made the right move returning to the gate. A little late, yes, but also better to be safe than sorry.

[blee256]

Couldnt you have had the push back crew take a look at it? Especially if you didnt get any abnormal indications?

[Cruise]

Originally Posted by Bigey

Interesting read. I'd appreciate the guys concern and cautiousness and i think you made the right move returning to the gate. A little late, yes, but also better to be safe than sorry.

What do you mean "a little late?" How could we have done anything sooner since as soon as the F/A notified us, we took action?

You're right about the guys concern. I certainly didn't try to make him feel dumb or anything like that. After I made the inspection, I talked to the pax and just stated that something was brought to our attention and we make safety our priority. Fortunately, there was nothing wrong and we would be heading out shortly.

[JEP]

Originally Posted by Cruise

What do you mean "a little late?" How could we have done anything sooner since as soon as the F/A notified us, we took action?

I think he meant the plane was a little late, but it's better for the scheduled departure to be late....and not 'a little late' looking.....

[Cruise]

Originally Posted by blee256

Couldnt you have had the push back crew take a look at it? Especially if you didnt get any abnormal indications?

Yes, I agree, we probably could have had the ground crew look at it. But, the Capt. was only using hand signals...no cockpit/ ground comms...push crew didn't have a headset. As a result, it would've been very difficult to explain what was going on. However, I queried ramp control if we could just stop the push in place to go have a look, ramp said it was no problem. I figured we'd just stop, I'd go open the cabin door and have a look. It would've been real quick that way....and we would've been on our way...but the Capt. said we were going back. Um, OK, at that point, what am I supposed to do? Obviously since it's the Capt's bird if he wants to go back....we're going back.

We were getting no abnormal indications because # 1 wasn't spinning yet. That, in addition to the fact there was never anything wrong...LOL

[Cruise]

Originally Posted by JEP

I think he meant the plane was a little late, but it's better for the scheduled departure to be late....and not 'a little late' looking.....

Ah, roger that. I'm picking up what you're putting down Bigey!

Thanks Jim!

[triple7]

....

[Nick]

What kind of plane was this?

[Cruise]

Originally Posted by Nick

What kind of plane was this?

Saab 340

[greaper007]

Pax should probably be tied up and gagged when they step on the plane .

[DE727UPS]

Well. Here's a good pax story...

I was on an Xpressjet E145, in row 18, GEG-ONT on Tuesday, and noticed what looked like a fuel leak after rotation. It was coming off the right aileron. I figured there was a vent on the bottom of the wing and it was just venting a little gas or something. So I waited for it to quit. And waited. And waited...

Finally, I decided I better say something. So I motioned for the F/A to come back. We were probably around 5K agl by now. I pointed out this stream coming off the wing and told her I thought it was a fuel leak and to tell the pilots. She goes up front and THEN the leak stopped. Next thing ya know the F/O comes back for a look. I told him I was a UPS Capt and there WAS a fuel leak but it looks okay now (the F/A and Capt knew I was an ACM but I hadn't actually introduced myself to the F/O before). He says we're gonna go back. Next thing you know, we are sitting back on the runway at GEG, shut down, surrounded by firetrucks. It was pretty cool.

It turned out there was a bad valve in the fuel vent that caused a fuel leak at high pitch attitudes. From looking at the stain on the aileron, I'd bet it had been doing it for a while, but probably nobody noticed it since it didn't last all that long.

When we got off the plane in GEG, the Capt made an annoucement that an airline pilot in the back of the plane had noticed a fuel leak and that's why we came back. I got a friggen standing ovation from the pax who thought I liked saved their lives or something. In the back of my mind I was thinking "Yeah, and if I had kept my mouth shut I'd be in ONT by now". But, turning around was a good call, not knowing for sure what had caused the leak.

Didn't make the news, though, and I didn't make it to work that day. Oh well...

[Velocipede]

Or you'd have been in Elko, NV when the leak induced fuel imbalance demonstrated to the pilots that there was a problem...

[DE727UPS]

Naw, I could see the leak stopped. But Elko's not a bad place.

[Velocipede]

Originally Posted by DE727UPS

Naw, I could see the leak stopped. But Elko's not a bad place.

Did you get a look at the NTSB report from the Chalk's crash...turns out the wing fuel leak was an indication of imminent spar failure that caused them to lose the wing.

The bottom of a smoking hole is a bad place to wind up.

Good thing you spotted and reported it.

[Seggy]

Originally Posted by blee256

Couldnt you have had the push back crew take a look at it? Especially if you didnt get any abnormal indications?

No way would I trust the pushback crew in IAD or 99.9999% of the other stations.

[Cruise]

Originally Posted by Seggy

No way would I trust the pushback crew in IAD or 99.9999% of the other stations.

Haha......nothing personal against rampers.....but I'm gonna have to agree with you on that one Seggy. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule.....but, for the most part, ramp personnel aren't generally the sharpest tack in the box, esp. in IAD.

I know, at one point in time I was one of 'em and worked with them.

[Seggy]

Originally Posted by Cruise

Haha......nothing personal against rampers.....but I'm gonna have to agree with you on that one Seggy. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule.....but, for the most part, ramp personnel aren't generally the sharpest tack in the box, esp. in IAD.

I know, at one point in time I was one of 'em and worked with them.

The only ramper(s) I would trust is if I knew 'em personally, like OldTownPilot.

Other than that FORGET IT...

[FlyChicaga]

Originally Posted by Cruise

Moral of the story is basically to Cover Your A$$. The Capt. and I knew darn well there were no intake plugs installed....but, to keep everyone calm/ happy, we went back to the gate and checked everything out again. In the end, it all worked out with the exception of the late departure/ arrival.

Sounds quite familiar to our "bomb threat" we had in EWR a few months ago.

Don, I think I flew that airplane in question two days ago. I was flipping through the logbook during my preflight, and see "fuel leak" with an air return. Hmm, I see... Small world.