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Dispatched with a deferred inoperative aft fuel boost pump the flight crew of a large commercial fixed wing jet were concerned when the autofuel management system turned off the forward pump as well but did not open a crossfeed to provide positive fuel pressure to the engine. To maintain pressure they went to manual but; approaching top of descent; received a cas warning of trapped\unavailable fuel which caused them to declare an emergency.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1193689 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201408 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801-2400 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.ARTCC |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | IMC |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Commercial Fixed Wing |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Descent |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Fuel Booster Pump |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical |
Narrative:
The aircraft had an MEL for 'main tank pumps - tank 1 aft inop'. About 200 miles out from our destination; during cruise; we received an 'engine 1 suct feed' alert. For some reason the autosystem had shut all the pumps off without providing crossfeed to the engine. We went to manual and back to auto and the system returned to normal ops for about 1 minute before shutting all the number 1 tank pumps off again. In manual we had the forward pump providing positive pressure; so we went back to manual and continued the flight. Just after initiating the descent; we received a 'tank 3 tip trapped' alert with an accompanying 'tank 3 fuel qty low' alert. The aircraft also began to quickly develop an imbalance between tanks 1 and 3. We declared an emergency due to the speed with which the imbalance was developing. The imbalance slowed as we descended. We landed uneventfully.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Dispatched with a deferred inoperative aft fuel boost pump the flight crew of a large commercial fixed wing jet were concerned when the autofuel management system turned off the forward pump as well but did not open a crossfeed to provide positive fuel pressure to the engine. To maintain pressure they went to manual but; approaching top of descent; received a CAS warning of trapped\unavailable fuel which caused them to declare an emergency.
Narrative: The aircraft had an MEL for 'Main Tank Pumps - Tank 1 Aft Inop'. About 200 miles out from our destination; during cruise; we received an 'ENG 1 SUCT FEED' alert. For some reason the autosystem had shut all the pumps off without providing crossfeed to the engine. We went to manual and back to auto and the system returned to normal ops for about 1 minute before shutting all the Number 1 tank pumps off again. In manual we had the forward pump providing positive pressure; so we went back to manual and continued the flight. Just after initiating the descent; we received a 'Tank 3 Tip Trapped' alert with an accompanying 'TANK 3 FUEL QTY LOW' alert. The aircraft also began to quickly develop an imbalance between tanks 1 and 3. We declared an emergency due to the speed with which the imbalance was developing. The imbalance slowed as we descended. We landed uneventfully.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.