B737-300 FLT CREW HAS ELECTRIC FUEL PUMP PROBS DURING CRUISE AND DSNDS WITHOUT CLRNC.

Date: 2006-06 · Aircraft: B737-300 · Phase: cruise

Anomalies: aircraft-equipment-problem-critical|deviation-altitude-excursion-from-assigned-altitude

Synopsis

B737-300 FLT CREW HAS ELECTRIC FUEL PUMP PROBS DURING CRUISE AND DSNDS WITHOUT CLRNC.

Narrative

THIS LEG WAS TO OAK. THE ACFT HAD 2 MEL'S; 'LEADING EDGE TRANSIT LIGHT ON' AND '#2 GENERATOR INOP.' THE MEL'S CAUSED SOME RESTRS. THE LEADING EDGE TRANSIT LIGHT RESTR US TO .65 MACH/300 KTS. THE #2 GENERATOR INOP RESTR US TO FL350 OR BELOW BECAUSE WE HAD TO USE THE APU GENERATOR FOR THE BUS. EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL UNTIL ABOUT 30 MINS INTO THE FLT. AT THAT TIME THE #2 AFT FUEL BOOST FAILED. WE FOLLOWED THE QRH GUIDANCE AND TURNED OFF THE SWITCH. AT THIS TIME THE BOOST PUMP FAILURE DID NOT IMPACT OUR OPS SO WE CONTINUED ON. LIGHTS CAME ON ALL OVER THE COCKPIT BECAUSE THE APU SHUT DOWN. WHILE I WAS SORTING OUT THE SYS FAILURES CAUSED BY 1 BUS OP; THE FLT ATTENDANTS WERE RINGING US BECAUSE IT WAS NOW DARK IN THE CABIN. AFTER RUNNING THE QRH CHKLISTS; I REALIZED THAT WE NOW HAD NO FUEL BOOST PUMPS ON THE R MAIN TANK BECAUSE PART OF THE LOAD SHEDDING WAS TO DE-POWER THE #2 FORWARD BOOST PUMP. COMBINED WITH THE EARLIER FAILURE OF THE #2 AFT BOOST PUMP AND OUR ALT OF FL320; WE NOW FACED THE POSSIBILITY OF #2 ENG FLAMEOUT. THE QRH FOR LOSS OF BOTH BOOST PUMPS ON 1 SIDE CALLS FOR A DSCNT TO FL300 OR BELOW TO PREVENT FLAMEOUT OR LOSS OF THRUST. I INSTRUCTED FO TO BEGIN A DSCNT TO FL300 AND I CALLED ZOA TO REQUEST AN IMMEDIATE DSCNT TO FL280. CTR SAID TO STAND BY. I INFORMED HIM THAT WE MUST DSND NOW BECAUSE OF LOSS OF FUEL BOOST PUMPS. HE SAID THAT FL280 WAS NOT AVAILABLE BUT FL300 WAS. I SAID FL300 WOULD BE FINE. HE CLRED US TO FL300. THE PROB WAS BY THE TIME THE CTLR SAID; 'CLRED TO FL300 WE HAD ALREADY DSNDED APPROX 500 FT AND WERE SLOWLY DSNDING THROUGH FL315. I FEEL THAT I MADE THE DECISION TO START AN IMMEDIATE DSCNT A LITTLE TOO SOON. WE SHOULD HAVE WAITED UNTIL CLRED BY CTR TO START DOWN. I COULD EVEN HAVE OPENED THE FUEL XFEED FOR A FEW MINS WITHOUT GETTING TOO MUCH OF A FUEL IMBAL. (THIS PROC IS NOT MENTIONED IN THE QRH). SO I SHOULD HAVE EITHER STAYED AT FL320 UNTIL CLRED LOWER; OR DECLARE AN EMER BEFORE STARTING DOWN. THIS ERROR WAS COMPOUNDED BY AN 11 HR DUTY DAY AND OVER 7 HRS OF FLT TIME; A VERY BUSY MALFUNCTION WITH LOTS OF LIGHTS AND QRH READING. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 701239: AFTER CLRING OUR FLT PATH VISUALLY AND WITH TCAS; THE CAPT TOLD ME TO GO AHEAD AND START DSNDING AS HE BRIEFLY INFORMED ATC OF OUR ACFT CONDITION. DURING OUR DSCNT PASSING APPROX FL310; ATC CLRED US TO DSND TO FL300. WE LEVELED OFF AT FL300 AND PROCEEDED ON OUR PLANNED RTE AND LANDED UNEVENTFULLY. WE SHOULD HAVE TOLD ATC ABOUT OUR ACFT PROB ON THE INITIAL REQUEST FOR A DSCNT AND ATC COULD HAVE VECTORED THE ACFT IN FRONT OF AND BELOW US APPROPRIATELY TO ALLOW US TO DSND.

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