A B737 flight crew became distracted by a bird flock during takeoff roll. The flap handle may have b...

Narrative:

We had a normal push then the after start flow onto the before taxi checklist. I vividly remember waiting for the leading edge transit light to extinguish before the captain called for the before taxi checklist. We taxied to the runway uneventfully; we did get rushed on the before takeoff checklist as we waited an unusual amount of time for the flight attendants to complete their announcement while we had been cleared for takeoff. Takeoff roll was uneventful but unusually bumpy. I remember holding onto the glare shield at one point to stop the vibration. After a normal rotation; I noticed a flock of birds approaching. I leaned forward and may have quickly propped myself up using the flap lever for a better view of what might be an impending bird strike; it ended up being a non-event. I then noticed a buffer message on the FMC as well as airspeed warning on the primary flight display (pfd). I simultaneously pushed the power up while telling the captain; 'you better push it over a little; something isn't right.' he did exactly that; while my eyes caught the flap gauge at zero. I selected flaps 1 immediately and the warnings went away as we climbed out normally. We never received a shaker or pusher. The flight continued normally.as you can imagine; we were bewildered with the situation. We initially thought we had forgotten to set the flaps. I then reminded him that the throttle bursts and takeoff configuration warning gave us no indication of that. We tested the takeoff configuration warning system upon landing...it was normal. I assume a mechanical/electrical error was not to blame.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B737 flight crew became distracted by a bird flock during takeoff roll. The flap handle may have been used to prop up the First Officer for better view resulting in movement of handle to flaps up.

Narrative: We had a normal push then the After Start Flow onto the Before Taxi Checklist. I vividly remember waiting for the Leading Edge Transit light to extinguish before the Captain called for the Before Taxi Checklist. We taxied to the Runway uneventfully; we did get rushed on the Before Takeoff Checklist as we waited an unusual amount of time for the flight attendants to complete their announcement while we had been cleared for takeoff. Takeoff roll was uneventful but unusually bumpy. I remember holding onto the glare shield at one point to stop the vibration. After a normal rotation; I noticed a flock of birds approaching. I leaned forward and may have quickly propped myself up using the flap lever for a better view of what might be an impending bird strike; it ended up being a non-event. I then noticed a buffer message on the FMC as well as airspeed warning on the Primary Flight Display (PFD). I simultaneously pushed the power up while telling the Captain; 'You better push it over a little; something isn't right.' He did exactly that; while my eyes caught the flap gauge at zero. I selected flaps 1 immediately and the warnings went away as we climbed out normally. We never received a shaker or pusher. The flight continued normally.As you can imagine; we were bewildered with the situation. We initially thought we had forgotten to set the flaps. I then reminded him that the throttle bursts and takeoff configuration warning gave us no indication of that. We tested the takeoff configuration warning system upon landing...it was normal. I assume a mechanical/electrical error was not to blame.

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.

Attributes
ACN	1341681
Time
Date	201603
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	SLC.Airport
State Reference	UT
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B737 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Initial Climb
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Flap Control (Trailing & Leading Edge)
Person 1
Function	First Officer
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 136
Person 2
Function	Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 131 Flight Crew Type 14000
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Deviation - Speed All Types Inflight Event / Encounter Other / Unknown

A B737 flight crew became distracted by a bird flock during takeoff roll. The flap handle may have been used to prop up the first officer for better view resulting in movement of handle to flaps up.