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If Tempted to Reset Circuit Breakers - Don't

Pilots Union Urges New Policy
When the electrical gremlins strike, circuit breakers should not be reset. In fact, this non-procedure should be made a matter of industry-wide policy.

In a Feb. 18 letter to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the nation's largest pilots union, argues that a single, clear policy for the industry is needed. After coordinating with carriers, manufacturers and other organizations, ALPA has produced suggested language for a policy letter the FAA could issue on resetting tripped circuit breakers. The last FAA guidance on the subject was in an advisory circular issued nine years ago. Given the aphorism that "power feeds a fire," the resetting of circuit breakers can potentially worsen the potential for a catastrophic in-flight electrical fire.

The ALPA letter cited numerous Service Difficulty Reports (SDR's) where flight crews reset popped breakers and smoke, sparks and burned wiring resulted.

According to the letter signed by Capt. Paul McCarthy, ALPA's executive air safety chairman, current circuit breaker reset policies have been developed independently over the years, leading to wide variance in procedures for handling tripped breakers. "Most pilots are taught that the 'proper' way to reset a circuit breaker is to allow a cooling period, generally 1-3 minutes, then reset the breaker. In fact, tripped circuit breakers have come to be viewed by pilots as a relatively benign, if not common, occurrence. This then reinforced the belief that resetting circuit breakers, even multiple times, is a safe procedure," McCarthy wrote.

A new policy statement is needed, McCarthy urged, emphasizing "the potential hazard presented by resetting a tripped circuit breaker." Since every situation cannot be anticipated, the pilot in command should have some discretionary authority on the matter.

In addition to updating the cockpit policy for resetting breakers, ALPA also proposed that every circuit breaker trip should trigger a mandatory logbook entry, to include the conditions when the trip occurred. This practice would assist maintenance personnel, who often find they cannot duplicate the situation once the airplane is on the ground.

The FAA has not yet responded to the ALPA recommendation. >> Full text of the ALPA letter and attachments may be found in the "Breaking News" area of our website: http://www.aviationtoday.com <<