Narrative:

After departure; we received instructions to fly a heading for traffic. Once contacting indianapolis center; we were told to verify the routing we had received from clearance. The clearance was to fly the FEDRA3 RNAV departure with the shipr transition; then direct skywa; and then the FILPZ1 arrival into clt. We read back the clearance which was correct; however; we had deviated off from that route. Obviously; we were not aware of our deviation until center brought it to our attention. Reflecting back on the departure; we were perplexed because we had reviewed the FMS; and could not figure out how we got off course. After calling ATC with regards to the deviation; we were able to figure out exactly what caused the error. We had planned for a departure off of 17L. On our taxi out; we were told expect runway 17R instead. With the change in runways; I called for a runway change checklist. The first officer (first officer) changed the FMS routing; and then ran the new numbers on the ACARS for our performance. The first officer did a great job running through the checklist; and operating the FMS on the way out. However; when we did the FMS review on the checklist; we failed to see that the transition part of the departure was missing. I physically saw the new runway; and departure SID in the FMS; however when we negotiated the taxi hotspot; going from the ramp; to taxiway juliet; to gulf; to bravo; I went to heads up outside and did not physically see the transition phase setup in the FMS; I only heard the verbal. With that transition not selected; we ended up cutting the corner going from fedra direct to skywa; rather than going from fedra direct shipr; and then to skywa therefore getting off our assigned route. After discussing the deviation with the first officer; he said; he did not realize when a runway change is put in the FMS; it wipes out the previous transition; he thought the transition transferred over from the prior inputs; being that the transition was not changed; only the runway.I should have physically looked at the transition; and perhaps stopped the checklist or taxi until we were in a location where I could have been a better resource in backing up the sequence of the FMS. The first officer exhibits great skills and knowledge of the aircraft. Being in the aircraft for only a few months; it is imperative for the captain to keep an extra eye on everything; and do our best to keep the workload at a minimum so these items can be trapped before they become an incident.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: CRJ-900 flight crew reported a track deviation occurred when they programmed the FMS improperly following a late runway change on taxi out.

Narrative: After departure; we received instructions to fly a heading for traffic. Once contacting Indianapolis Center; we were told to verify the routing we had received from clearance. The clearance was to fly the FEDRA3 RNAV departure with the SHIPR transition; then direct SKYWA; and then the FILPZ1 arrival into CLT. We read back the clearance which was correct; however; we had deviated off from that route. Obviously; we were not aware of our deviation until center brought it to our attention. Reflecting back on the departure; we were perplexed because we had reviewed the FMS; and could not figure out how we got off course. After calling ATC with regards to the deviation; we were able to figure out exactly what caused the error. We had planned for a departure off of 17L. On our taxi out; we were told expect runway 17R instead. With the change in runways; I called for a Runway Change Checklist. The First Officer (FO) changed the FMS routing; and then ran the new numbers on the ACARS for our performance. The FO did a great job running through the checklist; and operating the FMS on the way out. However; when we did the FMS review on the checklist; we failed to see that the transition part of the departure was missing. I physically saw the new runway; and departure SID in the FMS; however when we negotiated the taxi hotspot; going from the ramp; to taxiway Juliet; to Gulf; to Bravo; I went to heads up outside and did not physically see the transition phase setup in the FMS; I only heard the verbal. With that transition not selected; we ended up cutting the corner going from FEDRA direct to SKYWA; rather than going from FEDRA direct SHIPR; and then to SKYWA therefore getting off our assigned route. After discussing the deviation with the FO; he said; he did not realize when a runway change is put in the FMS; it wipes out the previous transition; he thought the transition transferred over from the prior inputs; being that the transition was not changed; only the runway.I should have physically looked at the transition; and perhaps stopped the checklist or taxi until we were in a location where I could have been a better resource in backing up the sequence of the FMS. The FO exhibits great skills and knowledge of the aircraft. Being in the aircraft for only a few months; it is imperative for the Captain to keep an extra eye on everything; and do our best to keep the workload at a minimum so these items can be trapped before they become an incident.

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.