FLT CREW EXPERIENCED FMC PROGRAMMING ISSUE FOR DANDD5 STAR; CITING CHART FONT AND DEPICTION OF OATHE AS CONTRIBUTORY.

Date: 2007-07 · Aircraft: B777-200 · Phase: cruise

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

Synopsis

FLT CREW EXPERIENCED FMC PROGRAMMING ISSUE FOR DANDD5 STAR; CITING CHART FONT AND DEPICTION OF OATHE AS CONTRIBUTORY.

Narrative

WE WERE CLRED J24. OATHE.DANDD5.DEN. UPON REACHING OATHE; WE PROCEEDED DIRECT DANDD; AND ATC QUICKLY INQUIRED IF WE WERE CLRED DIRECT DANDD. DURING PROGRAMMING THE FMC AT THE GATE IN IAD; THERE WAS NO OATHE TRANSITION IN THE FMC; SO WE CLOSED UP OATHE TO DANDD; AND ASSUMED THAT WAS OUR CLRNC. ANOTHER 'GOTCHA' IS THAT THERE ARE TWO PLACES ON THE DANDD 5 ARR PLATE WHERE OATHE IS SPELLED OUT; WITHIN ABOUT 1 INCH OF EACH OTHER. IN REVIEWING THE PLATE WHILE HOLDING IT IN MY HAND; MY THUMB COVERED THE ACTUAL OATHE FIX; SO I READ OATHE AND THE REMARKS ASSOCIATED WITH IT (THE LEFT-MOST 'OATHE' ON THE PLATE); LOCATED NEAR SELLS INTXN; AND MISSED THE FACT THAT THE INTXN WAS ACTUALLY SELLS. OUR ERROR DID NOT PRODUCE A LOSS OF SEPARATION; BUT THERE ARE SEVERAL HUMAN FACTORS ISSUES HERE THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED. FIRST; WHY IS THE NAME OF A FIX WRITTEN TWICE -- ONCE NEAR THE ACTUAL FIX AND ONCE NEAR ANOTHER FIX -- IN THE SAME FONT? SECOND; WHY DID THE OATHE TRANSITION NOT APPEAR IN THE FMC? I WILL BE READING STARS MUCH MORE CLOSELY; AND WATCHING HOW I HOLD THEM!CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATED THAT WHEN THE CLRNC WAS PROGRAMMED MANUALLY INTO THE FMC; THE OATHE TRANSITION WAS NOT AN OPTION WHEN SELECTING THE DANDD5 ARR ON THE 'ARRIVALS' PAGE. THIS CREATED A DISCONTINUITY BETWEEN OATHE AND DANDD; SO THEY CLOSED THE DISCONTINUITY BETWEEN THE FIXES ON THE 'LEGS' PAGE. THE FLT CREW FELT THE RTE WAS ENTERED AS SPECIFIED IN THEIR CLRNC; AND EVEN THOUGH THE TRANSITION IS DEPICTED IN THE ARR GRAPHIC; IT IS NOT INCLUDED IN TEXT FORM ON THE CHART.

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