HDG TRACK DEV.

Narrative

WE WERE CLRD FOR THE OXI 2 ARR; FWA TRANSITION TO ORD; FO FLYING THE AIRPLANE. AFTER PASSING FWA; BOTH MASTER CAUTION LIGHTS ON OUR MLG CAME ON AND REMAINED LIT UNTIL THEY WERE RESET. THE OVERHEAD ANNUNCIATION PANEL WAS WASHED OUT BY BRIGHT SUNLIGHT; MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO FIND ILLUMINATED SYS MALFUNCTION LIGHTS. THE FO AND I BOTH STRAINED TO SEE IF ANY ANNUNCIATOR LIGHT WAS LIT; AND TO FIND EVIDENCE OF ANY OTHER ACFT MALFUNCTION. NO SYS ABNORMALITY OR OTHER MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND. (THE ACFT LOGBOOK HAD SEVERAL RELATED ENTRIES WHICH HAD BEEN ADDRESSED BY PLACARDING ONE OF THE OVERHEAD ANNUNCIATOR LIGHTS. THE 'FLASHING' OF THE MASTER CAUTION LIGHTS WAS NOT DIRECTLY ADDRESSED BY MAINT ACTION). AFTER CONCLUDING THAT THE STEADY ILLUMINATION OF THE CAUTION LIGHTS WAS A NUISANCE WARNING; I BEGAN TO CONSIDER HOW I WOULD WRITE THE LOGBOOK ENTRY TO ENSURE THAT THIS PROBLEM WOULD BE REPAIRED. THE FO HAD BECOME INVOLVED IN ASSESSING THE PROBLEM AND THEN IN JOINING ME IN MY DELIBERATIONS ABOUT THE LOGBOOK ENTRY. ALTHOUGH WE HAD TUNED THE OXI 095 DEG RADIAL FOR THE TURN AT SPANN INTXN; WE FAILED TO TURN BECAUSE OF OUR DISTR. AT FWA 40 DME I NOTICED OUR DIVERGENCE AND HAD THE FO TURN TO HDG 230. TO INTERCEPT THE COURSE (OXI 275 DEG INBOUND). NEXT; WE RECEIVED AN ACARS MESSAGE TO CALL CTR ON A NEW FREQ ASAP. THE FO AND I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT WE MISSED A RADIO CALL; EVEN THOUGH WE WERE DISTR AND WERE OFF COURSE. WE CALLED THE NEW FREQ AND RECEIVED A NEW CLRNC. I BELIEVE THAT MY FAILURE TO MONITOR THE FO'S NAV WHILE I INVESTIGATED POSSIBLE ACFT ABNORMALITIES WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION IN THIS OCCURRENCE. ALSO; I SHOULD HAVE INSTRUCTED HIM TO FOCUS SOLELY ON FLYING AND NAV WHILE I RESEARCHED THE PROBLEM. SECONDARY FACTORS: REPEATED FAILURE OF MAINT TO REMEDY A SERIOUS PLT DISTR EVEN THOUGH MEL REQUIREMENTS WERE ARGUABLY MET. CREW FATIGUE AND 'LAST FLT OF THE TRIP' COMPLACENCY. RELATIVE INEXPERIENCE OF CAPT. AND FO IN THESE CREW CONDITIONS.