B747-400 CREW FOUND THEY WERE UNABLE TO USE FUEL FROM THE STABILIZER TANKS BECAUSE MAINT HAD PULLED AND COLLARED THE FUEL BOOST PUMP CIRCUIT BREAKERS.

Date: 2003-01 · Aircraft: B747-400 · Phase: cruise

Anomalies: aircraft-equipment-problem-critical|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-far|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-maintenance|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-published-material-policy|other-fuel-pump-cb-out-and-collared

Synopsis

B747-400 CREW FOUND THEY WERE UNABLE TO USE FUEL FROM THE STABILIZER TANKS BECAUSE MAINT HAD PULLED AND COLLARED THE FUEL BOOST PUMP CIRCUIT BREAKERS.

Narrative

FLT DEPARTED JFK ON SCHEDULE; BUT DELAYED FOR TKOF DUE TO DEICING. FUEL AT START OF TKOF APPROX 360000 LBS; WITH 20.8 IN HORIZ STABILIZER TANK; AND 94.4 IN CTR WING TANK. R STABILIZER PUMP SWITCH ON; L STABILIZER PUMP SWITCH OFF; AS PER B747-400 OPERATING BULLETIN. WHEN CTR WING TANK FUEL REACHED APPROX 80.4; 'FUEL PUMP STABILIZER R' MESSAGE ILLUMINATED ON EICAS WITH SIMILAR STATUS MESSAGE. PUMP INDICATION ON FUEL SYNOPTIC CHANGED FROM BLUE TO YELLOW. R HORIZ STABILIZER TANK PUMP TURNED OFF AT THIS TIME IN ACCORDANCE WITH OPERATING BULLETIN. SHORTLY THEREAFTER; EICAS MESSAGE 'FUEL STABILIZER XFER' ILLUMINATED. THEN INITIATED 'FUEL STABILIZER XFER' CHKLIST. NOTEWORTHY IN THIS CHKLIST IS THE FIRST STEP WHICH SAYS; 'CHK STABILIZER TANK PUMP SWITCHES ON.' THIS STATEMENT CONFLICTS WITH OPERATING BULLETIN WHICH DOES NOT PERMIT USE OF THE L STABILIZER PUMP AND; IN THIS CASE; REQUIRED US TO TURN OFF THE R STABILIZER PUMP DUE TO THE 'FUEL PUMP STABILIZER R' MESSAGE. ALSO NOTEWORTHY IS THAT THIS PROC RECONFIGURES ACFT FUEL SYS TO THE TANK-TO-ENG BURN SEQUENCE. OUR GROSS WT WAS 845000 LBS. THE PROC EMPHASIZES; TO LAND BEFORE MAIN TANK #2 OR #3 IS EMPTY TO MAINTAIN CTR OF GRAVITY WITHIN LIMITS. HOWEVER; ANOTHER CONCERN IS THAT MAIN TANKS #1 AND #4 MAY CONTAIN LESS FUEL THAN #2 AND #3. HENCE; MAIN TANKS #1 AND #4 WILL EMPTY BEFORE #2 AND #3; REQUIRING FUEL BURN RECONFIGN. AFTER COCKPIT OPS MANUAL PROC COMPLETED; DISPATCH AND MAINT CTL NOTIFIED. CONSIDERABLE DIFFICULTY OCCURRED USING VHF 131.45 AND 126.7; SO WE ESTABLISHED PHONE PATCH ON HF. DURING CONFERENCE WITH DISPATCH; MAINT CTL AND CAPT Y; CAPT X REQUESTED USE OF THE L HORIZ STABILIZER TANK XFER PUMP DESPITE OPERATING BULLETIN; ITEM 2. CAPT CONCURRED THAT WE COULD USE THE L PUMP AND INDICATED THAT THE OPERATING BULLETIN INSTRUCTIONS WOULD BE CHANGED TO REFLECT. WE TRIED THE L HORIZ STABILIZER TANK XFER PUMP; BUT IT ALSO APPEARED INOP. CAPT Y THEN SUGGESTED THAT THE PROB MAY BE CIRCUIT BREAKERS FOR THE L AND R HORIZ STABILIZER TANK XFER PUMPS LOCATED IN THE FLT ATTENDANT CREW REST AREA MAY BE OPEN. IT WAS AGREED THAT EVEN IF THEY WERE OPEN; THEY COULD NOT BE RESET; SO THAT ISSUE WAS DISMISSED. THEREAFTER; IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE OVERWT LNDG CHKLIST; AN EMER WAS DECLARED AND A DIVERSION TO DTW INITIATED. AT XA15Z AND APCHING DTW; DISPATCH REQUESTED TO HAVE SOMEONE CHK THOSE XFER PUMP CIRCUIT BREAKERS AND; IF OPEN AND COLLARED; TO REMOVE THE R HORIZ STABILIZER TANK XFER PUMP CIRCUIT BREAKER COLLAR AND RESET THAT CIRCUIT BREAKER. BOTH HORIZ STABILIZER TANK XFER PUMP CIRCUIT BREAKERS WERE FOUND OPEN AND COLLARED. WE RESET THE R PUMP CIRCUIT BREAKER AND THE HORIZ STABILIZER TANK FUEL BEGAN A NORMAL (1 PUMP) XFER. THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED IN HOLDING AT SPICA; 12000 FT. AT THIS TIME; THE EMER WAS CANCELED AND A DIVERSION TO ANC WAS COORD WITH DISPATCH AND ATC. THIS WAS TO AVOID AN OVERWT LNDG OR FUEL DUMPING IN DTW AND PROVIDE A REFUELING POINT ENRTE TO NRT. TO LAND WITHIN MAX GROSS WT LIMITS AT ANC; WE COORD WITH DISPATCH AND ZAN TO DUMP 3000 LBS OF FUEL AT FL310 APPROX 80 MI PRIOR TO YESKA.

More incidents for this aircraft family →

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