Date: 201404
Local time of day: 0601-1200
Location: ZZZ.Airport, US
Flight conditions: VMC
Light: Daylight
Aircraft: B757 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operator: Air Carrier
Operating under: Part 121
Flight plan: IFR
Mission: Passenger
Flight phase: Climb
Airspace: Class B ZZZ
ATC / advisory: TRACON ZZZ
Aircraft component: Hydraulic Syst Valve
Component problem: Improperly Operated
Reporter organization: Air Carrier
Reporter function: Captain; Pilot Not Flying
Reporter qualification: Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Human factors: Situational Awareness; Confusion; Communication Breakdown; Time Pressure; Workload
Second reporter function: First Officer; Pilot Flying
Anomaly: Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural MEL / CDL; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Detector: Person Flight Crew
When detected: In-flight
Contributing factors: Human Factors; Procedure
Primary problem: Human Factors

Narrative: Maintenance delay.  First swapped airplanes. Then Maintenance found the battery switch cover missing and it turned out to 'not' be deferrable. They decided to swap switches with Left Flight Control Hydraulic Shutoff switch and MEL that system with the valve locked 'Open'. This was accomplished and signed off. I was quickly briefed by Maintenance and was told there were no operational issues.  A quick review of the MEL verified that.  Many other distractions included other MEL items and the inevitable customer issues with agents and flight attendants.  Lots of Foreign and Domestic connects pressuring us to get going. We re-ran all our checks after Maintenance finished (after having shut down the airplane) and checklists.  We pushed back over an hour late and taxied to runway. On the 'Before Takeoff Check'; the First Officer noticed a L FLT CONT HYD EICAS message; but we assumed it was associated with the locked hydraulic Flight Control Valve. We noticed no other indications and took off. After takeoff and cleanup we [saw] on the EICAS display: L YAW DAMPER and RUDDER RATIO and associated lights. Ran and followed QRH checklists.  In addition; we noticed an OFF light in the Left Flight Control Shutoff switch; the L FLT CONT HYD EICAS message was still there; and an ELEV L HYD PRESS Status message came up. We analyzed the situation and determined that the Left Flight Control Hydraulic Valve had been locked 'Closed' rather than 'Open'.  Looking at the QRH procedures we felt it would be safe to continue to ZZZ1 with QRH restrictions - primarily 15 knot crosswind restriction.  In addition; the Left Flight Control System was MEL'd because the switch had no guard. It would have been possible to restore the system by resetting the Circuit Breaker (CB) and turning the switch on if needed.  We called Maintenance Control and brought in the Dispatcher and Duty Manager.  They later brought in a Flight Training Manager and all concurred with that assessment.  We safely continued and landed at ZZZ1. Flight Deck Systems interpretation. Operation in Non-compliance. FARs.  Interpretation of MEL.

Callback: Reporter stated they initially thought the EICAS message was just due to the Flight Control Shut-off (S/O) Valve being wired to the 'Open' position and not able to move; not because the valve had been wired to the 'Closed' position. He later realized he had mis-interpretated the reason for the EICAS message. The B757 would not have been allowed to depart with the Left Hydraulic Flight Control Valve in the 'Closed' position.

Second narrative: Upon arrival at aircraft I was informed by Maintenance that they had to remove the battery switch because it was missing the clear guard and they were going to replace it with the Left Flight Control Shutoff switch from the Accessory panel.  They would then MEL the Left Flight Control Shutoff with the valve 'Open'.  We were already in a delay due to a previous tail [aircraft] swap and the new tail was towed to gate from hangar.  I did feel a sense of being in a rush due to so many passengers trying to make connections; so I did not lookup the MEL myself and familiarize myself with all aspects of what Maintenance was doing.  Maintenance had to [electrically] de-power the aircraft and [swap] the switches. Once that was complete I ran all the preflight checks again.  We pushed over an hour late to runway.  On the 'Before Takeoff Check'; I noticed a L FLT CONT HYD EICAS and mentioned it to the Captain; but we both assumed it was due to Maintenance locking the valve; not thinking the valve was actually locked 'Closed'.  After Takeoff; we received an EICAS L YAW DAMPER and RUDDER RATIO.  We ran and followed the QRH.  We also had an ELEV L HYD PRESS Status message.  This is when we realized the valve was locked 'Closed' instead of 'Open' as per MEL.  I continued as pilot flying while the Captain spoke with Dispatch; Maintenance Control and Duty Manager who later contacted Flight Training Manager.  We decided it was safe to continue to ZZZ1.  The lesson learned for me is to not treat lightly an EICAS message and to ask questions of Maintenance about the MEL; even if we are an hour late.


Synopsis: A Captain and First Officer report about their misunderstanding of a L FLT CONT HYD EICAS message that appeared during a rushed pre-departure check on a B757-200 aircraft. An MEL of the Left Hydraulic Flight Control Shutoff Valve switch clear cover guard required Maintenance to wire the valve to the 'Open' position. Aircraft departed with the Shutoff valve wired to the 'Closed' position.