A B727 FREIGHTER FLT PLANS WITH LESS THAN STANDARD FUEL AFTER DECLARING EMER FUEL WITH APCH CTL; LNDG SFO; CA.

Date: 2003-11 · Aircraft: B727 Undifferentiated or Other Model

Anomalies: aircraft-equipment-problem-critical|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-far|inflight-event-encounter-other-unknown

Synopsis

A B727 FREIGHTER FLT PLANS WITH LESS THAN STANDARD FUEL AFTER DECLARING EMER FUEL WITH APCH CTL; LNDG SFO; CA.

Narrative

DOWNLOADED WINDS FROM WEB SITE AT FL300 AND FL360. HAD MAX FUEL LOAD OF 53000 LBS OUT OF FWA. FLEW BEST RANGE .80 MACH ALL THE WAY AND ALSO FOLLOWED ENTIRE COMPUTER FLT PLAN THROUGHOUT FLT SO AS TO AVOID JETSTREAM. ENRTE; THE FUEL BURN WAS GETTING MORE THAN PLANNED BY THE COMPUTER FLT PLAN; ALTHOUGH WX REMAINED VERY GOOD AND SMOOTH FOR ALMOST ENTIRE RTE WITH DEST WX THE SAME. EXPERIENCE WAS -15 ENGS USUALLY MADE UP FUEL FURTHER INTO FLT VERSUS THE -9 ENGS AND -7 ENGS -- NOT TODAY. AS WE APCHED ZLC AIRSPACE; CAPT STARTED ASKING CREW IF ANYONE WANTED TO LAND SHORT OF DEST TO LET HIM KNOW -- NO ONE WANTED TO -- ALT WAS FL350. CONTINUED ENRTE TO SFO. ATC CLRED US DIRECT TO ENI AND GOLDEN GATE 4 ARR RATHER THAN THE ORIGINAL AND SHORTER RISTI 4 ARR TO ECA. THAT WOULD ADD MORE TO FUEL BURN. APCHING OAK AIRSPACE; WE REQUESTED FOR FUEL CONSERVATION NOT TO GO TO ENI; WHICH WAS STILL A LONGER RTE THAN ORIGINAL ARR. THAT WOULD ADD MORE TO FUEL BURN. APCHING OAK AIRSPACE; WE REQUESTED FOR FUEL CONSERVATION NOT TO GO TO ENI; BUT DIRECT TO PYE FOR SHORTER RTE. ATC ASKED IF WE WERE DECLARING MINIMUM FUEL AND WE SAID NO. THEY EVENTUALLY CLRED US TO PYE; BUT THIS WAS STILL A LONGER RTE THAN ECA RESTI 4 ARR. DURING DSCNT; DECLARED MINIMUM FUEL. AFTER IT APPEARED WE WERE STILL BEING VECTORED TO SOME DEGREE WITH OTHERS IN THE IMMEDIATE AIRSPACE; DECLARED EMER FUEL. LNDG UNEVENTFUL. PLANNED SHUTDOWN FUEL WAS 9200 LB AND WS 4800 LBS INSTEAD. APPARENTLY; WINDS ALOFT STRONGER THAN ANTICIPATED AS WAS NEW ARR RATHER THAN PLANNED ARR. NEED INTERMEDIATE FUEL STOP FROM FWA TO SFO.

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