The Minimum Equipment List (MEL) is a critical document used to ensure the safe operation of aircraft when certain equipment is inoperative.

Alert Differentiation

• Actual Alert: Indicates that a monitored system is inoperative. This requires immediate attention to address the system’s malfunction.
• False Alert: Indicates that the monitoring system itself is inoperative, not the system being monitored. This type of alert might not affect immediate flight safety but requires troubleshooting.

MEL Handling Procedures

Prior to Door Close

Maintenance personnel can invoke the MEL to determine which inoperative items can be deferred according to the MEL guidelines.

Door Close to before takeoff

During the phase between cabin door closure and takeoff, the preamble serves as the framework for handling any issues that arise. Any failure, whether indicated by the ECAM or not, initiates this preamble and guides subsequent actions according to the flowchart criteria. While there may be minor variations in this process among different operators, the core Airbus philosophy remains consistent.

If the issue is resolved, proceed with the flight; if not, refer to the MEL entries for further action.

MEL Repair Intervals

Additional Info:

• MEL items section provides a list of all MAINTENANCE messages at the beginning of each applicable ATA chapter sub-section.
• Dispatch is generally permitted without conditions for most messages. However, some specific maintenance messages have MEL dispatch conditions.
• Operators must establish procedures to manage these maintenance messages and rectify them within the specified C repair interval. Only a few messages have a D repair interval.

Handling ECAM actions when dispatched under MEL

According to MEL instructions, system controls in the cockpit must be set to specific positions and clearly placarded. If additional failures occur in flight, triggering an ECAM alert, the crew should perform all ECAM actions. They must disregard any steps that conflict with the MEL-required system control position, except when the MEL Operations Procedure provides specific instructions.

In certain cases, ECAM alerts may instruct the crew to position a system control differently from the MEL. Here, the MEL Ops Procedure guides the crew to perform all ECAM actions, overriding the “inoperative” placard as needed.

Not related to MEL

Some situations are not related to MEL and are not classified as “NO-GO.” These reversible abnormal conditions do not require the use of the MEL. Such conditions involve system states, aircraft configurations, or external factors where the corrective action is immediate, obvious, or well-known to the crew and maintenance personnel.

Example: Alerts like “ELEC BAT 1 (2) OFF” and “ENG 1 (2) SHUT DOWN” represent conditions where normal operations can be restored quickly without invoking the MEL.