1992-04 · NASA ASRS report 207110
FO OF ACR LGT ACFT INADVERTENTLY MISPROGRAMMED THE FMC RESULTING IN MISSING AN IMPORTANT TURNING POINT TO AVOID A WARNING AIRSPACE AREA. ATC INTERVENED AND þSAVED THE DAY.þ
LEG: BWI - MCO. I WAS þPROGRAMMERþ OF THE FMC THIS LEG. COMING DOWN FROM BWI; I PROGRAMMED THE RTE AS FILED; BRINGING US TO CHS ON J121. AFTER CHS; I TYPED IN þJ79;þ THEN; MISTAKENLY; þONM.þ SEEING MY ERROR; I TYPED IN þOMNþ (ORMOND BEACH); AND BROUGHT IT UP TO REPLACE þONMþ (I DIDNþT WANT TO GO TO SOCORRO; NM!). THAT FIXED (SO I THOUGHT); I CONTINUED TO TYPE IN THE þBITHO 6þ ARR TO RWY 18R AT ORLANDO. EVERYTHING IN THE þBOXþ LOOKED SHIPSHAPE; SO I ACTIVATED THE FLT PLAN. I DID NOT XCHK AGAINST THE FLT PLAN; WAYPOINT-BY-WAYPOINT; VERIFYING THE þLEGS PAGEþ AND FLT PLAN AGREED. I þKNEWþ I HAD CAREFULLY ENTERED THE RTE OF FLT; LEG-BY-LEG; IN THE þRTE PAGEþ -- IþD EVEN CAUGHT THE þONMþ (SOCORRO) þOMNþ (ORMOND BEACH) MISTAKE; SO I KNEW I HAD PUT IT IN RIGHT. SO I THOUGHT...WHAT I DIDNþT REALIZE WAS; THE COMPUTER HAD DUMPED þJ79þ ON ME - - WHEN I MISTAKENLY TYPED IN þONMþ (IT KNEW J79 DOES NOT LEAD TO SOCORRO; NM). WHEN I TYPED OVER THE CORRECT FIX; þOMN;þ THE COMPUTER MADE IT DIRECT; ELIMINATING J79 AND ITS CRUCIAL FIX þSTARY;þ WHICH PUTS A BEND IN THE JETWAY TO AVOID W-137/W157A. SURE ENOUGH; AFTER CHS; THE LNAV HEADED US TOWARDS OMN DIRECT. IT WAS THE CAPTþS LEG; AND HE KNEW I WAS A SHARP YOUNG COMPUTER WHIZ; SO HE DIDNþT DOUBT THE ACCURACY OF THE PROGRAMMING. ABOUT 45 MI SSW OF CHS; ZJX CALLS UP AND GIVES US A FAIRLY NONCHALANT þ20 DEG R STEER TO AVOID RESTR AIRSPACE.þ CAPT SAYS; þWHATþS UP?þ I BACKTRACK; FIGURE OUT MY ERROR (AND THE COMPUTERþS LOGIC) ON RTE 2 PAGE (RECREATING MY PROGRAMMING SEQUENCE; INCLUDING THE ONM/OMN MIS- ENTRY/CORRECTION THAT CAUSED J79 TO DUMP OUT; AND þDIRECT OMNþ TO TAKE ITS PLACE. LESSONS LEARNED: 1) ALWAYS XCHK THE RTE OF FLT ON THE LEGS PAGE AGAINST THE FLT PLAN. 2) NEVER TRUST THE LOGIC OF THE FMC COMPUTER -- IT DOES WHAT IT DOES; AND CAN SCREW YOU. 3) NEVER TRUST THE PROGRAMMING OF YOUR FO (CAPT) -- HE MAY HAVE BEEN þTRICKEDþ BY THE FMC!
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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