CRJ flight crew reports crossing CRI at 1;100 FT after commencing the VOR approach to Runway 13L at JFK; then being cleared for the visual to Runway 13R. Fatigue and a very hot cockpit are cited as factors in the incident.
Synopsis
CRJ flight crew reports crossing CRI at 1;100 FT after commencing the VOR approach to Runway 13L at JFK; then being cleared for the visual to Runway 13R. Fatigue and a very hot cockpit are cited as factors in the incident.
Narrative
VOR 13L at JFK cross ASALT at 3;000 and CRI at 1;500 mandatory. I; the First Officer; asked for 13R visual. Tower said cleared us for the visual to 13R. At that time I noticed we were descending through 1;500 FT approaching CRI and crossed it at 1;100. No ATC query at all and landed uneventful on 13R. The CRJ continues to be an oven up front. The packs are not blowing cold air; and the volume of air is low. We flew 15 hrs day 3 and 4 with 9:55 and 8:55 rest on the ground. Adding the minimum rest plus the heat caused two experienced pilots to make mistakes that normally would not have happened. Neither caused an ATC problem; but our very difficult/uncomfortable work environment is leading us to this area. [We were] too hot and very little rest. The AC system is in dire need of repair. Packs are not blowing air and my Captain and I have bought store sunshades to keep the cockpits cool on the ground.Fix these airplanes. I flew these jets new and the packs worked; they could freeze a piece of meat. Now it is not working as new and needs to be repaired. I can only drink so much water in the hot cockpit. A comfortable cockpit environment leads to a safe one where decisions can be made in a real way as opposed to missing basic things due to fatigue and heat.
Second reporter narrative
This event occurred on the last leg of a four day trip following a reduced rest overnight and a three hour sit/break after the first leg of the day. Also contributing to the error was extreme heat due to poor air conditioning from the aircraft. While executing the VOR 13L into JFK we crossed the CRI VOR at 1;100 FT MSL when the approach plate specifies 1;500 MSL MANDATORY. At that point in the approach we were already handed over to the Tower and cleared to land on 13R after we requested to land on 13R and the original approach was to 13L. We were not sure if we still had to comply with crossing restriction since a new runway was assigned and we were proceeding to it visually and we were cleared to land on that runway. The rest of the approach and landing was uneventful.[We needed] more vigilance on our part as crew to insure compliance with crossing restrictions. Better rest and better structured trips or if a long break is required; better rest facilities.
More incidents for this aircraft family →
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.