MEL Discrepancy on a Night IFR Charter
You are the pilot-in-command of a Part 135 night IFR charter in a Beechcraft King Air B200, carrying six passengers from Christchurch (NZCH) to Dunedin (NZDN). During preflight, the first officer reports that the left fuel-flow indicator is fluctuating between 300 and 500 lb/hr while the right indicator is steady. The operator’s approved minimum equipment list (MEL) lists the fuel-flow indicator as a no-go item for IFR night operations. The line engineer says the aircraft is “legal to ferry” and issues a maintenance release with the defect deferred under the MEL. Forecast weather is benign: NZCH is CAVOK; NZDN is BKN020, 10 km; the planned alternate, Invercargill, is similar. The flight is scheduled in 40 minutes, and the passengers are already boarding. The MEL deferral period for this item is shown as 10 days. You must decide whether to accept the aircraft, what authority the maintenance release gives you, and how to handle the schedule pressure.
1. Can the flight legally depart under the operator’s MEL? Set out the decision path you would follow.
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No, on the facts given.
- The pilot-in-command is responsible for the airworthiness and safe operation of the aircraft under the Civil Aviation Rules, and in a Part 135 operation the operator’s exposition and approved MEL also apply.
- An MEL authorises dispatch with a listed defect only when the stated dispatch conditions are met. If the item is a no-go for IFR night operations, there is no authority to carry passengers on this flight.
- The maintenance release records that maintenance action has been taken; it does not override the MEL.
Decision path:
- Identify the exact MEL item and read its dispatch conditions.
- Confirm the defect matches that item.
- Confirm the planned flight is within the permitted conditions (night, IFR, passengers).
- If any condition is not met, do not depart.
The steady right-hand indicator does not cure the defect, because the MEL item is controlling.
2. What is the significance of the engineer’s “legal to ferry” statement, and what would you do next?
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The statement may refer to a ferry or maintenance positioning flight under a different approval, not to a passenger-carrying Part 135 night IFR charter. Ask for the specific authority in writing and check it against the MEL and the operator’s exposition.
If the aircraft is permitted only to ferry, you cannot carry passengers. Your practical options are to swap to another serviceable aircraft, delay until the defect is rectified, or cancel the flight. Do not accept a vague verbal assurance when the MEL says no-go.
3. How should you document and communicate the decision?
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Record the defect and your decision in the technical log and the operator’s dispatch records. Notify the operator’s duty pilot or chief pilot so the aircraft is not dispatched by someone else. Inform passengers of the delay or cancellation without technical detail. The key judgement is that schedule pressure and boarding passengers do not change the MEL limitation.