ERJ 170 flight crew reported an over fueling event which resulted in incorrect takeoff weight and a performance degradation on initial climb causing a GPWS terrain warning. The crew reconfigured the aircraft; resumed the climb; and continued to destination.
Synopsis
ERJ 170 flight crew reported an over fueling event which resulted in incorrect takeoff weight and a performance degradation on initial climb causing a GPWS terrain warning. The crew reconfigured the aircraft; resumed the climb; and continued to destination.
Narrative
We had a little over 1 hour sit between flights. After landing me and the Captain both setup the aircraft for the next flight which included the route; takeoff performance and everything else based on our current release and current weather. About 30 mins before departure fuel truck arrived and over fueled the aircraft. During over fueling the EICAS message fuel imbalance annunciated. We let the fueler know of the situation and called Dispatch letting them know we were over fueled by almost 2100 lbs and imbalanced. Dispatch told us they would send a new release with the new fuel weight since we had a light passenger load. We then contacted Maintenance and ran the fuel imbalance procedure. At that point boarding had started. Me and the Captain both reviewed the fuel imbalance procedure and then successfully balanced out the fuel tanks which led me being outside of the plane and Captain inside the cockpit. Once I arrived back into plane boarding had been completed and Flight Attendant (FA) stated ready to close doors. We then closed the doors and ran through the proper maintenance log entry followed by a call to maintenance of successful fuel imbalance procedure. Then we did a complete briefing followed by a threats briefing;originating and receiving checklist; before start to the line; and before start below the line checklist. We pushed back started our engines while the passenger had been boarded and ready for approximately 20 mins now. During pushback ATC notified us of delayed departure time going into ZZZ1. We were then instructed to wait in Runway XX hold bay. I was pilot monitoring and Captain was pilot flying (PF). Once given the cleared to takeoff clearance at ZZZ Runway XX; everything went normal until about 400 ft where we received a EPGWS (Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System) To low terrain". It was there for about 2-3 seconds and only stated once with amber RA. Once we climbed through 10;000ft we both discussed why that might have announced and both came to the conclusion that we did not reset and update the proper weight on takeoff configuration page based on the new release and new added weight factor due to the over fueling. Essentially leading to a lower takeoff power (FLEX) setting based on the previous lower weight numbers. Rest of the flight went according to plan. Once on the ground we both reviewed our performance inputs and what steps we could have taken to prevent this. Moving forward this could have been prevented if we updated the takeoff performance immediately once new release was received."
Second reporter narrative
This was the third leg for the crew departing from ZZZ with a destination of ZZZ1. Ten minutes prior to boarding; the crew receives a fuel imbalance during aircraft refueling. Planned ramp fuel was 10;100lbs. overfueled to 12;100lbs. I asked the First Officer to advise the fueler of the situation in which he stopped the fueling process. Both the first officer and myself asked the fueler if he was able to correct the fuel imbalance and was unable. I notified Dispatch of the new fuel on board and a new release was sent to the crew shorty after. I wrote up the condition in the aircraft logbook and the crew performed the associated fuel imbalance procedure. The reset was successful and Maintenance Control was notified. The crew debriefed the fuel imbalance procedure and and preceded forward with preflight action items. We closed the main boarding door and I called for the originating/receiving checklist. The crew then briefed the departure and ran appropriate checklists before requesting pushback from Ground Control. The flight continued normally with taxi into the Runway XX holding bay with an Air Traffic Control wheels up time of XA:20. The flight departed ZZZ at approximately XA:22. Captain was pilot flying (PF) and First Officer (FO) was pilot monitoring. At 400FT AGL I called FMS NAV" and started the left turn to intercept course northbound. Shorty after; crew receives EPGWS (Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System) "Too Low Terrain" alert. The amber RA flag appeared on the Primary Flight Display (PFD). My scan just before the advisory has been outside the aircraft with visual sight of the river for the start of the turn. The amber RA had then turned back to a normal display and I focused on positive control of the airplane. I was conflicted on why the aircraft received the alert and failed to execute the proper recovery technique immediately. The crew then re configured the aircraft with flap retraction and the flight continued normally to ZZZ1. The First Officer and myself were trying to figure out why the aircraft received the Terrain Alert and he asked if we updated the fuel load in the performance takeoff section of the Multipurpose Control Display Unit (MCDU). I stated that I don't remember doing so and we concluded that having a higher flex number that what should have been entered in the MCDU caused the aircraft to be at a low altitude than planned/expected.This information also supports why when I had initially pitched the aircraft to 10.3 degrees; the flight director dropped down to a lower pitch and the Pitch Limit Indicator (PLI) briefly appeared on the Primary Flight Display. When the aircraft arrived and shutdown at the gate in ZZZ1; the crew debriefed and spoke about the points listed above. We reviewed the weight and balance section and compared performed data confirming this error. We were task saturated following overfueling / fuel imbalance and the aircraft had previously been setup prior to this occurrence. I failed to identify the threat of not changing takeoff performance following this event. Going forward ; good technique would include updating the takeoff performance as soon as possible following the new dispatch release; as well as immediately performing the recovery procedure. My thought process at the time we received the over fueling was to notify Dispatch to ensure we accept this new fuel load with current passenger count as boarding was to start shorty. I was also focused on ensuring the crew correctly run the fuel imbalance procedure. Going forward I apply more effective technique to ensure the safety of flight."
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.