Narrative:

While descending and cleared for approach I called for flaps and discovered that the flaps were not coming out of the up position. The flap indicator stayed in the up position with the needles slightly (almost not noticeably) split. We discontinued the approach and were assigned runway heading with an altitude. I instructed the first officer to declare an emergency and to tell ATC we need to work on the problem. They gave us vectors and told us to let them know when we would be ready to land. I asked for the longest runway. We isolated the problem via the QRH. The procedures for flap malfunctions are extensive and complicated. My first officer was very thorough and meticulous with the checklist. We had the fuel and time to go through the list twice. I was convinced and confident that we did all we could do and it was now time to commence the approach. I landed ref 140+40 uneventfully and taxied to the gate. The training we get could not have come into play more. The procedures worked as we have trained for. Please pass on to training to keep flight control problems in the syllabus. Navigating the QRH is a challenge under pressure.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737-800 flight crew experienced flap failure on approach; and landed uneventfully after running the complex procedures.

Narrative: While descending and cleared for approach I called for flaps and discovered that the flaps were not coming out of the up position. The flap indicator stayed in the up position with the needles slightly (almost not noticeably) split. We discontinued the approach and were assigned runway heading with an altitude. I instructed the First Officer to declare an emergency and to tell ATC we need to work on the problem. They gave us vectors and told us to let them know when we would be ready to land. I asked for the longest runway. We isolated the problem via the QRH. The procedures for flap malfunctions are extensive and complicated. My First Officer was very thorough and meticulous with the checklist. We had the fuel and time to go through the list twice. I was convinced and confident that we did all we could do and it was now time to commence the approach. I landed ref 140+40 uneventfully and taxied to the gate. The training we get could not have come into play more. The procedures worked as we have trained for. Please pass on to Training to keep flight control problems in the syllabus. Navigating the QRH is a challenge under pressure.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.