Cargo liner crew discovers, in mid-pacific, that they have no life raft aboard.

Attributes
ACN	134698
Time
Date	199001
Day	Thu
Local Time Of Day	0601 To 1200
Place
Locale Reference	atc facility : ogg
State Reference	HI
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	Heavy Transport, Low Wing, 4 Turbojet Eng
Flight Phase	cruise other
Route In Use	enroute : other oceanic enroute : pacific enroute airway : zoa
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : first officer
Qualification	pilot : instrument pilot : flight engineer pilot : atp pilot : commercial
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 150 flight time total : 6000 flight time type : 1500
ASRS Report	134698
Person 2
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Qualification	pilot : atp
Events
Anomaly	non adherence : far other anomaly other
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	none taken : unable
Consequence	Other
Supplementary
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	Pilot Deviation

Narrative:

At midpoint of our pacific crossing we discovered that we had no life raft onboard (only mae west's). Company installs life rafts only on aircraft scheduled to fly over water, thus raft should have been installed at departure station. Had this been a before-start checklist item, I'm sure the entire event would have been avoided. In the future I will pay more attention to ensuring that survival equipment is installed prior to departure.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: CARGO LINER CREW DISCOVERS, IN MID-PACIFIC, THAT THEY HAVE NO LIFE RAFT ABOARD.

Narrative: AT MIDPOINT OF OUR PACIFIC XING WE DISCOVERED THAT WE HAD NO LIFE RAFT ONBOARD (ONLY MAE WEST'S). COMPANY INSTALLS LIFE RAFTS ONLY ON ACFT SCHEDULED TO FLY OVER WATER, THUS RAFT SHOULD HAVE BEEN INSTALLED AT DEP STATION. HAD THIS BEEN A BEFORE-START CHKLIST ITEM, I'M SURE THE ENTIRE EVENT WOULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED. IN THE FUTURE I WILL PAY MORE ATTN TO ENSURING THAT SURVIVAL EQUIP IS INSTALLED PRIOR TO DEP.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.