A DEPARTING DC10-40 FO TURNS TOO SOON TO INTERCEPT THE MTR VOR 203 DEG RADIAL OUT OF FRA. VIOLATES THE NOISE DEP PROC. CITES AN OSCILLATION OF THE FFM VOR NEEDLES; LOSS OF DME.

Date: 1998-02 · Aircraft: Widebody; Low Wing; 3 Turbojet Eng

Anomalies: deviation-track-heading-all-types|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-clearance|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-published-material-policy|other-unspecified

Synopsis

A DEPARTING DC10-40 FO TURNS TOO SOON TO INTERCEPT THE MTR VOR 203 DEG RADIAL OUT OF FRA. VIOLATES THE NOISE DEP PROC. CITES AN OSCILLATION OF THE FFM VOR NEEDLES; LOSS OF DME.

Narrative

ON DEP A MOMENTARY LOSS OF FFM VOR DME AND AN OSCILLATING ADF (VOR?) NEEDLE CAUSED THE FO (AN IOE PLT) TO START AN EARLY TURN TO INTERCEPT THE MTR 203 DEG RADIAL AS PER THE SID. NO ACFT CONFLICT BUT POSSIBLE NOISE SENSOR ACTIVATION. I (CAPT) WAS DISTRACTED BY AN ALT CHANGE ON CONTACT WITH EDDF DEP. NOTICED TOO LATE TO RECTIFY. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 392891: DEPARTING FRANKFURT; GERMANY; ON THIS DATE AS FLT TO DETROIT METRO ARPT; DEPARTING RWY 7L ON THE DAMOR 3D DEP. AFTER TKOF AND CLBING THROUGH APPROX 1500 FT AGL WE WERE APCHING THE FRANKFURT VOR WHILE CLBING TO 5000 FT FLT LEVEL. THE DISPATCHER HAS YOU PASS THE FRANKFURT VOR TO 2 DME THEN TURN 90 DEGS TO INTERCEPT THE METRO VOR 203 DEG RADIAL INBOUND. METRO VOR HAS NO DME. WHEN OVER THE FRANKFURT VOR THE DME SIGNAL WENT BLANK ON BOTH VOR RECEIVERS. I HELD MY CURRENT HEADING AND CHANGED OVER TO THE METRO VOR. THE 203 DEG RADIAL IMMEDIATELY CAME OFF THE CASE AND MOVED IN ABOUT 1/3 DEFLECTION. WE HAD A TAILWIND OF ABOUT 35 KTS AND I QUICKLY LOOKED AT THE SID AND SAW THAT THE DISTANCE FROM FRANKFURT VOR TO METRO WAS ONLY ABOUT 14 MI. I COMMENCED A 20 DEG BANK TURN TO INTERCEPT THE METRO 203 DEG RADIAL. AFTER ABOUT 30 DEGS OF TURN THE DME CAME ON AGAIN SHOWED ABOUT 1 DME FROM FMM (FRANKFURT) ON THE CAPT'S SIDE. AS WE WERE NOW NOT HEADING FOR THE VOR I WAS FEELING LIKE WE WERE ABOUT 1 DME NE. THE NEEDLE WAS UNRELIABLE AS IT WAS IN THE CONE OF CONFUSION. AT THIS TIME DEP CALLED AND SAID WE HAD TURNED 3 MI EARLY. I ROLLED BACK TO THE R WHILE CONTINUING THE CLB AND LEVELED THE INTERCEPT OF THE METRO 203 DEG RADIAL. WE PROBABLY DID PASS ABOUT 1 DME N OF FMM VOR AND MAY HAVE SET OFF A NOISE SENSOR THAT IS RIGHT IN THAT LOCATION. HAD THIS POINT (2 DME E OF FMM) BEEN IN THE INS DATABASE AND WE HAD BEEN NAVING VIA THE INS THIS WHOLE SIT WOULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED. THE DEP CTLR WAS OF NO HELP IN THE SIT AND ONLY SEEMED TO BE WAITING FOR A CHANCE TO CRITICIZE US; WHICH HE DID. THIS WAS VERY DISTRACTING DURING A CRITICAL PHASE OF FLT. ALL HE NEEDED TO DO WAS TO ASSIGN US A HEADING TO FLY.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.