A B737-700 Crew reported that prior to a flight the landing gear MEL'ed down; they questioned the dispatch fuel load and in fact added an additional 1;000 lbs. At cruise the crew determined that insufficient fuel was on board to cover destination reserves and so diverted enroute for fuel.
Synopsis
A B737-700 Crew reported that prior to a flight the landing gear MEL'ed down; they questioned the dispatch fuel load and in fact added an additional 1;000 lbs. At cruise the crew determined that insufficient fuel was on board to cover destination reserves and so diverted enroute for fuel.
Narrative
After arriving; we had a note from Scheduling advising us of a reroute. We found out we'd be flying a plane instead deadheading. The aircraft had a gear issue and needed to be flown under an MEL with the gear extended. I called Dispatch to check on the fuel load; because it seemed low for the flight. The Dispatcher went over the chart while I was on the phone and assured me that the fuel load was correct for the intended flight with the gear extended. I was concerned and bumped the fuel about 1000 lbs. After climb while in cruise; the First Officer and I could see that the fuel was not going to be adequate to arrive at our destination with the proper reserves. We made a decision to divert and coordinated with Dispatch. The Dispatcher agreed with the divert plan; and he sent an amended Release plan to show the new destination plan. We arrived without incident; took on more fuel; and continued as normal. I would like to have a chart available to use as a backup for this type of operation. Crews should follow along with a chart for this type of operation.
Second reporter narrative
A flight from ZZZ; which was not considered a Ferry flight according to Dispatch prior to Departure; ended up diverting due to insufficient fuel at our destination. While at cruise; the Crew performed many manual fuel calculations and determined the arrival fuel would be less than the emergency fuel. The Flight Crew needs to know what changes can be input into the FMC to have more accurate calculations. The Crew needs to have access to fuel burn rates; drag index; and more accurate cruise speeds due to MEL items.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.