Narrative:

The cause of this event was high pilot workload due to deferred on-board equipment and distraction. We had a deferred ACARS and FMS system. As a result; we were unable to use the normal RNAV procedures in the houston area. Instead we were navigating point-to-point using VOR's. This caused some confusion for controllers and we dealt with multiple re-routes throughout the day. Communicating our situation to ATC; finding correct frequencies for new navaids; and determining appropriate radials was very distracting.additionally; before; during and after the 10;000 foot flow we received multiple radio calls from center. These included speed; heading; and altitude changes. As pilot monitoring; I was answering the radio during the 10;000 foot flow and missed the change from APU bleed to engine bleed air supply to the packs. I accept full responsibility for my part in this event. In the future I intend to always double check my flow patterns. As we were climbing through 16;500 feet to FL230 we received a 'cabin' aural warning due to the cabin altitude increasing over 10;000 feet. We immediately deployed oxygen masks and informed ATC we had a pressurization issue and needed to descend to 10;000 feet. Upon reaching 10;000 we ran the QRH and discovered we had not changed from APU bleed to engine bleeds. We changed to the engine bleeds; determined that the pressurization system was fully functional; and continued to our destination after climbing to 320.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: When an EMB-145 was dispatched with both the FMS and ACARS inoperative the resulting increased workload contributed to their failure to switch pressurization from APU to engine bleeds. They received a cabin altitude warning climbing through about 16;000 and descended to 10;000 where they discovered their error. After reconfiguring the bleeds they continued to their destination.

Narrative: The cause of this event was high pilot workload due to deferred on-board equipment and distraction. We had a deferred ACARS and FMS system. As a result; we were unable to use the normal RNAV procedures in the Houston area. Instead we were navigating point-to-point using VOR's. This caused some confusion for controllers and we dealt with multiple re-routes throughout the day. Communicating our situation to ATC; finding correct frequencies for new navaids; and determining appropriate radials was very distracting.Additionally; before; during and after the 10;000 foot flow we received multiple radio calls from Center. These included speed; heading; and altitude changes. As pilot monitoring; I was answering the radio during the 10;000 foot flow and missed the change from APU bleed to engine bleed air supply to the packs. I accept full responsibility for my part in this event. In the future I intend to always double check my flow patterns. As we were climbing through 16;500 feet to FL230 we received a 'CABIN' aural warning due to the cabin altitude increasing over 10;000 feet. We immediately deployed oxygen masks and informed ATC we had a pressurization issue and needed to descend to 10;000 feet. Upon reaching 10;000 we ran the QRH and discovered we had not changed from APU bleed to engine bleeds. We changed to the engine bleeds; determined that the pressurization system was fully functional; and continued to our destination after climbing to 320.

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.