Fuel imbalance caused by fuel crossfeed inadvertently left open during flight.

Attributes
ACN	115002
Time
Date	198906
Day	Fri
Local Time Of Day	1201 To 1800
Place
Locale Reference	atc facility : 3la airport : las
State Reference	NV
Altitude	msl bound lower : 13000 msl bound upper : 13000
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	tracon : las artcc : zob
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	Medium Large Transport, Low Wing, 2 Turbojet Eng
Navigation In Use	Other Other
Flight Phase	descent other
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : first officer
Qualification	pilot : atp
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 180 flight time total : 4000 flight time type : 700
ASRS Report	115002
Person 2
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Qualification	pilot : atp
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 200 flight time total : 10000 flight time type : 400
ASRS Report	114805
Events
Anomaly	non adherence : published procedure other anomaly other
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	none taken : anomaly accepted
Consequence	Other
Supplementary
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	Pilot Deviation

Narrative:

Fuel x-feed inadvertently left on after the preflight inspection during a crew change. A fuel imbalance resulted (approximately 3000 pounds) during the short flight from lax to las, which was 37 minutes. The imbalance was first noticed when I disconnected the autoplt during descent for the approach. The captain and I were surprised that so much fuel could feed from the left side when pressure on both left and right should be equal. Given the high tank loading on such a short flight, perhaps some sort of warning light is appropriate to warn the pilots when an imbalance is occurring. No such light presently exists on the medium large transport. Every military aircraft I've flown has fuel imbalance caution lights. Why not on civilian aircraft where the effects on weight and balance are more critical?

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: FUEL IMBALANCE CAUSED BY FUEL CROSSFEED INADVERTENTLY LEFT OPEN DURING FLT.

Narrative: FUEL X-FEED INADVERTENTLY LEFT ON AFTER THE PREFLT INSPECTION DURING A CREW CHANGE. A FUEL IMBALANCE RESULTED (APPROX 3000 LBS) DURING THE SHORT FLT FROM LAX TO LAS, WHICH WAS 37 MINUTES. THE IMBALANCE WAS FIRST NOTICED WHEN I DISCONNECTED THE AUTOPLT DURING DSCNT FOR THE APCH. THE CAPT AND I WERE SURPRISED THAT SO MUCH FUEL COULD FEED FROM THE LEFT SIDE WHEN PRESSURE ON BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT SHOULD BE EQUAL. GIVEN THE HIGH TANK LOADING ON SUCH A SHORT FLT, PERHAPS SOME SORT OF WARNING LIGHT IS APPROPRIATE TO WARN THE PLTS WHEN AN IMBALANCE IS OCCURRING. NO SUCH LIGHT PRESENTLY EXISTS ON THE MLG. EVERY MIL ACFT I'VE FLOWN HAS FUEL IMBALANCE CAUTION LIGHTS. WHY NOT ON CIVILIAN ACFT WHERE THE EFFECTS ON WEIGHT AND BALANCE ARE MORE CRITICAL?

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of August 2007 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.