Narrative:

During preflight inspection; I discovered a burned out navigation light on the right wing. I informed the captain. The captain notified maintenance of the issue and he was informed that maintenance was on their way to the aircraft. The captain and I continued performing duties to prepare for departure. We had signed fit for duty and received release 0.maintenance came aboard the aircraft and proceeded to defer the navigation light; and returned the aircraft logbook to the captain. The captain and I confirmed that the logbook was filled out correctly. We then briefed the MEL; ran the originating and receiving checklist and the before start checklist; pushed back; and departed the gate. We later noticed that we had received a message. It was a message from dispatch for amendment to the release for the addition of the MEL related to the navigation light. We realized that we had failed to communicate with the dispatcher to receive amendment to the release.factors contributing to our error were external pressures to be on time; and also recency of flying for the captain. Maintenance was still on the aircraft within a couple minutes of departure time. I definitely was influenced by trying to depart on time. At the time; I felt that we were being thorough. In retrospect; I could have slowed down and made sure that all necessary steps were completed even if we took another minute or two to depart the gate. Prior to the flight we discussed the the fact that the captain has not had much flying recently. He explained that he had several phone calls with the company within the couple of hours prior to the flight to ensure that he met the recent flight requirements. This also created external pressure for him. Also; habits can degrade after being out of the flight deck for even a couple weeks and it can be easy to miss steps especially when a distraction such as a small maintenance issue arises. Despite this; I as the first officer should have been able to realize and correct our error. To avoid similar future errors; it is important to slow down and take care of minor maintenance issues a step at a time to ensure that all necessary communications with the company are accomplished. During future similar events; I will be more aware of communications from dispatch about amendments to the release. Perhaps creating cues to remind myself would be helpful (such as writing a note on a piece of paper and placing it between the thrust levers or over the mcdu).

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air carrier flight crew reported not notifying the Dispatcher of a navigation light that was out of service.

Narrative: During preflight inspection; I discovered a burned out navigation light on the right wing. I informed the Captain. The Captain notified maintenance of the issue and he was informed that Maintenance was on their way to the aircraft. The Captain and I continued performing duties to prepare for departure. We had signed fit for duty and received release 0.Maintenance came aboard the aircraft and proceeded to defer the navigation light; and returned the aircraft logbook to the Captain. The Captain and I confirmed that the logbook was filled out correctly. We then briefed the MEL; ran the originating and receiving checklist and the before start checklist; pushed back; and departed the gate. We later noticed that we had received a message. It was a message from Dispatch for amendment to the release for the addition of the MEL related to the navigation light. We realized that we had failed to communicate with the Dispatcher to receive amendment to the release.Factors contributing to our error were external pressures to be on time; and also recency of flying for the Captain. Maintenance was still on the aircraft within a couple minutes of departure time. I definitely was influenced by trying to depart on time. At the time; I felt that we were being thorough. In retrospect; I could have slowed down and made sure that all necessary steps were completed even if we took another minute or two to depart the gate. Prior to the flight we discussed the the fact that the Captain has not had much flying recently. He explained that he had several phone calls with the company within the couple of hours prior to the flight to ensure that he met the recent flight requirements. This also created external pressure for him. Also; habits can degrade after being out of the flight deck for even a couple weeks and it can be easy to miss steps especially when a distraction such as a small maintenance issue arises. Despite this; I as the First Officer should have been able to realize and correct our error. To avoid similar future errors; it is important to slow down and take care of minor maintenance issues a step at a time to ensure that all necessary communications with the company are accomplished. During future similar events; I will be more aware of communications from Dispatch about amendments to the release. Perhaps creating cues to remind myself would be helpful (such as writing a note on a piece of paper and placing it between the thrust levers or over the MCDU).

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.