Narrative:

Crew composite was I and a first officer that I had been with for the previous 12 days. We were meeting our relief first officer in hong kong. We all experienced slight delays in getting to the airport which I identified as a distraction to our flight. We all were properly rested; some of us slept better than others; but I did deem we were all fit for duty. During our cockpit setup; I took a moment to speak to both first officers about the known and any potentially unknown threats. I made special note to turn to my first officer who was now acting as relief pilot. I directed him to be very candid and direct at anything that he observed that was not correct or he had questions about. Weather conditions were rain showers with a wet runway; winds were slightly gusty. Takeoff weight was approximately 820;000 pounds. My first officer was in need of takeoffs and landings for currency; for which I chose to; give him this leg. We were cleared for takeoff; final check complete; and toga power selected with all proper FMA's displayed. At approximately 400 ft; I felt a deceleration and the aircraft began to pitch over. Simultaneously; the relief pilot called out 'something is not right.' the first officer continued to manually fly and flight level change was selected. The airspeed was manually increased through the cleanup portion of the flight. We all stayed focused on aircraft control until approximately 7;000 ft when the autopilot was engaged. Not fully understanding what had happened; the relief pilot said all the performance data dropped out for reasons unknown. With no immediate concerns; I elected to continue a normal climb until reaching cruise altitude. We; as a crew; tried to understand what had happened. I requested that both first officers discuss the FMC issues while I monitor the flight. With no clear apparent reason for what had happened; we as a crew discussed our options as to whether to continue to destination or to divert. During this time; aircraft control was transferred back to the first officer while I worked with the relief pilot to determine what was working and not working on the jet. Prior to calling dispatch; we as a crew all agreed that we had identified all potential threats and a mitigation strategy to trap any unforeseen errors. An hour after takeoff still south of japan; I directed the first officer to handle ATC communications and to monitor the aircraft; while the relief pilot and I contacted dispatch. Upon initial contact; I stated that this was not an emergency but was requesting the assistance of my dispatcher; and the manager on duty. The conversation continued with all parties regarding the continuation of this flight to destination. I informed everyone of the status of this aircraft-- that the performance functions of both FMC's were inoperative and no longer providing our fuel prediction or altitude capability. Prior to contacting dispatch; we had clearly established a navigation accuracy check and both navigation platforms were accurate. Additionally; we went through the flight plan and verified its accuracy and fuel predictions for each waypoint and the destination. Based on the status of my aircraft; and complete concurrence with my crew; I asked dispatch if they could think of any reason that we could not continue the flight safely to destination based on our plan of action. All parties agreed and I announced my decision as the captain; to continue the flight to destination. The remainder of the flight was uneventful.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B747-400 flight crew describes an FMC anomaly shortly after takeoff resulting in a thrust reduction and loss of all FMC performance data. After some discussion and manual entries the Captain elects to continue to destination.

Narrative: Crew composite was I and a First Officer that I had been with for the previous 12 days. We were meeting our Relief First Officer in Hong Kong. We all experienced slight delays in getting to the airport which I identified as a distraction to our flight. We all were properly rested; some of us slept better than others; but I did deem we were all fit for duty. During our cockpit setup; I took a moment to speak to both First Officers about the known and any potentially unknown threats. I made special note to turn to my First Officer who was now acting as Relief Pilot. I directed him to be very candid and direct at anything that he observed that was not correct or he had questions about. Weather conditions were rain showers with a wet runway; winds were slightly gusty. Takeoff weight was approximately 820;000 LBS. My First Officer was in need of takeoffs and landings for currency; for which I chose to; give him this leg. We were cleared for takeoff; final check complete; and TOGA power selected with all proper FMA's displayed. At approximately 400 FT; I felt a deceleration and the aircraft began to pitch over. Simultaneously; the Relief Pilot called out 'something is not right.' The First Officer continued to manually fly and flight level change was selected. The airspeed was manually increased through the cleanup portion of the flight. We all stayed focused on aircraft control until approximately 7;000 FT when the autopilot was engaged. Not fully understanding what had happened; the Relief Pilot said all the performance data dropped out for reasons unknown. With no immediate concerns; I elected to continue a normal climb until reaching cruise altitude. We; as a crew; tried to understand what had happened. I requested that both First Officers discuss the FMC issues while I monitor the flight. With no clear apparent reason for what had happened; we as a crew discussed our options as to whether to continue to destination or to divert. During this time; aircraft control was transferred back to the First Officer while I worked with the Relief Pilot to determine what was working and not working on the jet. Prior to calling Dispatch; we as a crew all agreed that we had identified all potential threats and a mitigation strategy to trap any unforeseen errors. An hour after takeoff still south of Japan; I directed the First Officer to handle ATC communications and to monitor the aircraft; while the Relief Pilot and I contacted Dispatch. Upon initial contact; I stated that this was not an emergency but was requesting the assistance of my Dispatcher; and the manager on duty. The conversation continued with all parties regarding the continuation of this flight to destination. I informed everyone of the status of this aircraft-- that the performance functions of both FMC's were inoperative and no longer providing our fuel prediction or altitude capability. Prior to contacting Dispatch; we had clearly established a navigation accuracy check and both navigation platforms were accurate. Additionally; we went through the flight plan and verified its accuracy and fuel predictions for each waypoint and the destination. Based on the status of my aircraft; and complete concurrence with my crew; I asked Dispatch if they could think of any reason that we could not continue the flight safely to destination based on our plan of action. All parties agreed and I announced my decision as the Captain; to continue the flight to destination. The remainder of the flight was uneventful.

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.