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A B757-200 on climbing through FL240 declared an emergency and diverted due to right air conditioning pack failed. Aircraft dispatched with left pack deferred inoperative.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 448185 |
| Time | |
| Date | 199908 |
| Day | Tue |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801 To 2400 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | airport : clt.airport |
| State Reference | SC |
| Altitude | msl single value : 24000 |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Night |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Controlling Facilities | artcc : ztl.artcc |
| Operator | common carrier : air carrier |
| Make Model Name | B757-200 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Navigation In Use | other |
| Flight Phase | climbout : vacating altitude |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Affiliation | company : air carrier |
| Function | flight crew : first officer |
| Qualification | pilot : atp pilot : flight engineer pilot : multi engine pilot : cfi |
| Experience | flight time last 90 days : 225 flight time total : 14825 flight time type : 8625 |
| ASRS Report | 448185 |
| Person 2 | |
| Affiliation | company : air carrier |
| Function | flight crew : captain oversight : pic |
| Qualification | pilot : atp |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | aircraft equipment problem : critical |
| Independent Detector | aircraft equipment other aircraft equipment : cabin altitude indicator other flight crewa |
| Resolutory Action | flight crew : declared emergency |
| Consequence | other |
| Factors | |
| Maintenance | contributing factor : schedule pressure performance deficiency : repair performance deficiency : testing performance deficiency : fault isolation |
| Supplementary | |
| Problem Areas | Aircraft Flight Crew Human Performance Maintenance Human Performance |
| Primary Problem | Aircraft |
Narrative:
This flight dispatched with the left air conditioning pack inoperative. During our climb out, through FL240, our right air conditioning pack failed. We followed the QRH first, as ATC cleared us to commence our descent to 10000 ft. During this descent, the cabin climbed at approximately 1800 FPM from about 5500 ft. Attempts to reset the pack by hitting the reset switch and cycling the main air conditioning switch and bleed air valve were not met with success. During this time, an emergency was declared. The captain refused to allow the first officer to declare an emergency. After a query from ATC, they (center control) declared one for us. This very brief time lag had no effect on the timeliness of our descent. The first officer finally re-established the right air conditioning pack, after the aircraft was in stable flight at 10000 ft. He did so, with the captain's permission, by pulling and resetting 3 circuit breakers related to this pack's operation. We were approximately 134 mi west of the clt VOR when this incident occurred. The captain elected to return to clt, initially at 9000 ft. During this event, the cabin never climbed to over 10000 ft. The approach and landing in clt were normal.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A B757-200 ON CLBING THROUGH FL240 DECLARED AN EMER AND DIVERTED DUE TO R AIR CONDITIONING PACK FAILED. ACFT DISPATCHED WITH L PACK DEFERRED INOP.
Narrative: THIS FLT DISPATCHED WITH THE L AIR CONDITIONING PACK INOP. DURING OUR CLBOUT, THROUGH FL240, OUR R AIR CONDITIONING PACK FAILED. WE FOLLOWED THE QRH FIRST, AS ATC CLRED US TO COMMENCE OUR DSCNT TO 10000 FT. DURING THIS DSCNT, THE CABIN CLBED AT APPROX 1800 FPM FROM ABOUT 5500 FT. ATTEMPTS TO RESET THE PACK BY HITTING THE RESET SWITCH AND CYCLING THE MAIN AIR CONDITIONING SWITCH AND BLEED AIR VALVE WERE NOT MET WITH SUCCESS. DURING THIS TIME, AN EMER WAS DECLARED. THE CAPT REFUSED TO ALLOW THE FO TO DECLARE AN EMER. AFTER A QUERY FROM ATC, THEY (CTR CTL) DECLARED ONE FOR US. THIS VERY BRIEF TIME LAG HAD NO EFFECT ON THE TIMELINESS OF OUR DSCNT. THE FO FINALLY RE-ESTABLISHED THE R AIR CONDITIONING PACK, AFTER THE ACFT WAS IN STABLE FLT AT 10000 FT. HE DID SO, WITH THE CAPT'S PERMISSION, BY PULLING AND RESETTING 3 CIRCUIT BREAKERS RELATED TO THIS PACK'S OP. WE WERE APPROX 134 MI W OF THE CLT VOR WHEN THIS INCIDENT OCCURRED. THE CAPT ELECTED TO RETURN TO CLT, INITIALLY AT 9000 FT. DURING THIS EVENT, THE CABIN NEVER CLBED TO OVER 10000 FT. THE APCH AND LNDG IN CLT WERE NORMAL.
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.