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An A321 was unable to climb to the flight planned altitude of FL390 and so landed with 1;500 pounds less than release predicted.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1042502 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201210 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801-2400 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Light | Night |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | A321 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Parked |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Not Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Inflight Event / Encounter Fuel Issue |
Narrative:
Flight was released with contingency fuel and 300 pounds extra for taxi; 0:35 minutes holding. No alternate. We took off with takeoff minimums plus 300-400 pounds. Flight plan showed initial climb to FL370; then step to FL390. Once airborne the FMC top altitude was FL350. FMC step climb to FL370 was 1:25 into flight. FMC never allowed step to FL390. Flight plan showed FL390 59 NM from our destination. Totally unrealistic. We were approximately 15;500 ft when 59 NM from our destination. Landing fuel on flight plan was 7;400. Actual was approximately 5;900 pounds. The only reason I took this fuel load was because weather was perfect. I will not make this assumption again. I do not have confidence in these flight plans; especially as we enter the winter months. Safety margins are greatly reduced when flight planning does not accurately forecast fuel burn.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: An A321 was unable to climb to the flight planned altitude of FL390 and so landed with 1;500 LBS less than release predicted.
Narrative: Flight was released with Contingency Fuel and 300 LBS extra for taxi; 0:35 minutes holding. No alternate. We took off with takeoff minimums plus 300-400 LBS. Flight plan showed initial climb to FL370; then step to FL390. Once airborne the FMC top altitude was FL350. FMC step climb to FL370 was 1:25 into flight. FMC never allowed step to FL390. Flight plan showed FL390 59 NM from our destination. Totally unrealistic. We were approximately 15;500 FT when 59 NM from our destination. Landing fuel on flight plan was 7;400. Actual was approximately 5;900 LBS. The only reason I took this fuel load was because weather was perfect. I will not make this assumption again. I do not have confidence in these flight plans; especially as we enter the winter months. Safety margins are greatly reduced when flight planning does not accurately forecast fuel burn.
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.