Narrative:

Both the captain and I are new in the airplane. The captain asked ZOA if they wanted us to cross 'tails' at 11000 ft. They said yes, but by now it was going to be very tight. We told them this and they gave us relief on airspeed and a heading. They said they had given the clearance to us earlier. Our altitude 'window' had not been changed and neither of us remembered it. However, we had gotten quite a few altitude, speed changes and the captain had problems getting the FMC to accept an altitude/speed change. If we did get the altitude change, we failed the cardinal rule of dialing it in the altitude alert. Sometimes, when it takes more steps to do the same old job, the glass cockpit does not reduce workloads. I think most pilots in the glass cockpit would not go back, however, we also can't forget the basics. Callback conversation with reporter revealed the following information: the reporter flies the airbus A-320 for a major united states air carrier. He has recently transitioned from the B-737-300 which has a 'much more user friendly FMC' than the airbus. The captain put the new altitude on the FMC 'legs' page, but it apparently did not show up on another page as would have been normal. The flight crew 'should have started down right away' but got busy with the FMC. ATC was not upset and the crew was able to make the restr. The reporter believes that this won't happen again as he is now more aware of the FMC and has more time in the aircraft. The reporter was not familiar with the routing. Originally he was programmed for sfo runway 28 but was now flying to runway 19.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: FLC MISSED AN ALT ASSIGNMENT.

Narrative: BOTH THE CAPT AND I ARE NEW IN THE AIRPLANE. THE CAPT ASKED ZOA IF THEY WANTED US TO CROSS 'TAILS' AT 11000 FT. THEY SAID YES, BUT BY NOW IT WAS GOING TO BE VERY TIGHT. WE TOLD THEM THIS AND THEY GAVE US RELIEF ON AIRSPD AND A HDG. THEY SAID THEY HAD GIVEN THE CLRNC TO US EARLIER. OUR ALT 'WINDOW' HAD NOT BEEN CHANGED AND NEITHER OF US REMEMBERED IT. HOWEVER, WE HAD GOTTEN QUITE A FEW ALT, SPD CHANGES AND THE CAPT HAD PROBS GETTING THE FMC TO ACCEPT AN ALT/SPD CHANGE. IF WE DID GET THE ALT CHANGE, WE FAILED THE CARDINAL RULE OF DIALING IT IN THE ALT ALERT. SOMETIMES, WHEN IT TAKES MORE STEPS TO DO THE SAME OLD JOB, THE GLASS COCKPIT DOES NOT REDUCE WORKLOADS. I THINK MOST PLTS IN THE GLASS COCKPIT WOULD NOT GO BACK, HOWEVER, WE ALSO CAN'T FORGET THE BASICS. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR FLIES THE AIRBUS A-320 FOR A MAJOR UNITED STATES ACR. HE HAS RECENTLY TRANSITIONED FROM THE B-737-300 WHICH HAS A 'MUCH MORE USER FRIENDLY FMC' THAN THE AIRBUS. THE CAPT PUT THE NEW ALT ON THE FMC 'LEGS' PAGE, BUT IT APPARENTLY DID NOT SHOW UP ON ANOTHER PAGE AS WOULD HAVE BEEN NORMAL. THE FLC 'SHOULD HAVE STARTED DOWN RIGHT AWAY' BUT GOT BUSY WITH THE FMC. ATC WAS NOT UPSET AND THE CREW WAS ABLE TO MAKE THE RESTR. THE RPTR BELIEVES THAT THIS WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN AS HE IS NOW MORE AWARE OF THE FMC AND HAS MORE TIME IN THE ACFT. THE RPTR WAS NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE ROUTING. ORIGINALLY HE WAS PROGRAMMED FOR SFO RWY 28 BUT WAS NOW FLYING TO RWY 19.

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.