<< >> NASA ASRS Report 1276246, July 2015

B737 flight crew reported taking off with a 15 knot tailwind because they were never told about the current conditions.

Attributes
ACN	1276246
Time
Date	201507
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	PHX.Airport
State Reference	AZ
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B737 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Takeoff
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 138
Person 2
Function	First Officer
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 180
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

Narrative:

After a very short taxi out to 25R; we switched to tower frequency and were immediately cleared for takeoff. Before even being lined up in position; the takeoff clearance was cancelled because an aircraft was on the go off of 25L. When that aircraft was clear; tower asked if we still wanted to take off. I replied we did and we launched. During the takeoff roll; tower gave the winds to a company aircraft. That was the first time I realized the probable reason for the go-around and for the question whether we still wanted to take off. It was excessive tailwind. We elected to continue the takeoff as we were in a precautionary profile anyway and we were above 80 knots. During cruise; I calculated the takeoff winds and it was a 15-knot tailwind.preventative measures: I guess I could have asked tower why he was asking if we wanted to take off. It was a very unusual situation.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737 flight crew reported taking off with a 15 knot tailwind because they were never told about the current conditions.

Narrative: After a very short taxi out to 25R; we switched to Tower frequency and were immediately cleared for takeoff. Before even being lined up in position; the takeoff clearance was cancelled because an aircraft was on the go off of 25L. When that aircraft was clear; Tower asked if we still wanted to take off. I replied we did and we launched. During the takeoff roll; Tower gave the winds to a Company aircraft. That was the first time I realized the probable reason for the go-around and for the question whether we still wanted to take off. It was excessive tailwind. We elected to continue the takeoff as we were in a precautionary profile anyway and we were above 80 knots. During cruise; I calculated the takeoff winds and it was a 15-knot tailwind.Preventative Measures: I guess I could have asked Tower why he was asking if we wanted to take off. It was a very unusual situation.

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.