37000 Feet | Browse and search NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System |
|
Attributes | |
ACN | 1609524 |
Time | |
Date | 201901 |
Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
Place | |
Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
State Reference | US |
Aircraft 1 | |
Make Model Name | B757 Undifferentiated or Other Model |
Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
Flight Phase | Climb |
Component | |
Aircraft Component | Fuel Booster Pump |
Person 1 | |
Function | Pilot Flying First Officer |
Qualification | Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 105.52 Flight Crew Type 674.73 |
Events | |
Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Procedural MEL Inflight Event / Encounter Fuel Issue |
Narrative:
In the original paperwork; the dil log mentioned that aircraft X was previously written up for 'center right fuel pump EICAS C the center right fuel pump output pressure is low center right fuel pump lite with fuel in center tank.'the preflight went normally and the center fuel pumps checked [was] good. After a normal engine start; we started taxiing. During the taxi; the captain noticed the center right fuel pump EICAS message. So we called ops and mx said we needed to return to the gate so they can do a reset. We returned to the gate and after about an hour and a half; mx changed a part and the pump appeared to work normally.while at the gate we looked at the MEL; which noted about center tank fuel pumps specification note a: 'one may be inoperative with center tank fueled provided: a. Fuel quantity in main tanks is adequate to reach a suitable airport if remaining center tank pump fails at any time.'so after accomplishing all of our checks; we departed ZZZ 2.5 hours late. On the climb; passing around 16;000 feet; we noticed the center fuel pump EICAS and associating low pressure light on the right center fuel pump switch. We accomplished the QRH checklist; which directs switching the affected pump to off and switching on the cross feeds. There is no mention in the QRH about ETOPS considerations. While I was flying and talking with ATC; the captain ended up talking with dispatch; [maintenance control]; and the [chief pilot] over HF. We also looked at our ETOPS fuel required at the cp; which was 29;597 lbs. At that point; in our wing tanks; we had a total of about 27.2 klbs (about 14.4 in the left and 12.8 in the right); meaning that if the remaining center tank failed around the cp; there would not be enough fuel in the main tanks to reach a suitable airport. The captain and I discussed and agreed that continuing toward the cp would be unnecessarily risky. While the captain discussed options with dispatch/[maintenance control]/[chief pilot] on HF (and having difficulty hearing them); I coordinated with ZZZ center to stay in their airspace before a final determination was made. Eventually; it was agreed by all parties to return to ZZZ. At our current weight; we would land about 18k heavy. Dispatch approved the overweight landing and asked us to [advised ATC]; which we did.with the construction on ZZZ [runway] xxl reducing their usable runway length to 9;100 feet; we requested and were approved to land on ZZZ [runway] xxr; a 12;000 ft runway. I did the visual landing to [runway] xxr with an RNAV backup (there is no ILS into xxr). The landing was uneventful and the [event] was terminated. The brakes heated up to a level 4 at most.we ended up taking another aircraft and departing for ZZZ1 2.5 hours later; departing within an hour of our critical cco time.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: B757 FO reported returning to departure airport after experiencing fuel boost pump issues.
Narrative: In the original paperwork; the DIL Log mentioned that Aircraft X was previously written up for 'CTR R FUEL PUMP EICAS C The center right fuel pump output pressure is low CTR R FUEL PUMP lite with fuel in CTR Tank.'The preflight went normally and the center fuel pumps checked [was] good. After a normal engine start; we started taxiing. During the taxi; the Captain noticed the CTR R FUEL PUMP EICAS message. So we called Ops and MX said we needed to return to the gate so they can do a reset. We returned to the gate and after about an hour and a half; MX changed a part and the pump appeared to work normally.While at the gate we looked at the MEL; which noted about Center Tank Fuel Pumps SPEC NOTE A: 'One may be inoperative with center tank fueled provided: A. Fuel quantity in main tanks is adequate to reach a suitable airport if remaining center tank pump fails at any time.'So after accomplishing all of our checks; we departed ZZZ 2.5 hours late. On the climb; passing around 16;000 feet; we noticed the center fuel pump EICAS and associating low pressure light on the right center fuel pump switch. We accomplished the QRH Checklist; which directs switching the affected pump to off and switching on the cross feeds. There is no mention in the QRH about ETOPS considerations. While I was flying and talking with ATC; the Captain ended up talking with Dispatch; [Maintenance Control]; and the [Chief Pilot] over HF. We also looked at our ETOPS Fuel Required at the CP; which was 29;597 lbs. At that point; in our wing tanks; we had a total of about 27.2 klbs (about 14.4 in the left and 12.8 in the right); meaning that if the remaining center tank failed around the CP; there would not be enough fuel in the main tanks to reach a suitable airport. The Captain and I discussed and agreed that continuing toward the CP would be unnecessarily risky. While the Captain discussed options with Dispatch/[Maintenance Control]/[Chief Pilot] on HF (and having difficulty hearing them); I coordinated with ZZZ Center to stay in their airspace before a final determination was made. Eventually; it was agreed by all parties to return to ZZZ. At our current weight; we would land about 18k heavy. Dispatch approved the overweight landing and asked us to [advised ATC]; which we did.With the construction on ZZZ [Runway] XXL reducing their usable runway length to 9;100 feet; we requested and were approved to land on ZZZ [Runway] XXR; a 12;000 ft runway. I did the visual landing to [Runway] XXR with an RNAV backup (there is no ILS into XXR). The landing was uneventful and the [event] was terminated. The brakes heated up to a level 4 at most.We ended up taking another aircraft and departing for ZZZ1 2.5 hours later; departing within an hour of our critical CCO time.
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.