Narrative:

We were holding for WX to land mht. WX never came up to minimums. An operational decision was made by the company to divert back to dca, our departure airport. Even though we left the holding pattern with 1000 pounds of fuel more than the minimum, en route we became fuel critical. We then diverted to bwi, 30 NM closer, but due to large volume of traffic in area requested priority handling for critical fuel. We landed without event but had only 37-39 mins of fuel remaining. As previously stated although we left the holding pattern with 1000 pounds extra fuel, strong headwinds and lower than normal altitudes greatly increased our fuel consumption.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: UNABLE TO REACH DIVERSION ARPT BECAUSE OF LACK OF ADEQUATE FUEL CREW LANDS AT CLOSER ARPT.

Narrative: WE WERE HOLDING FOR WX TO LAND MHT. WX NEVER CAME UP TO MINIMUMS. AN OPERATIONAL DECISION WAS MADE BY THE COMPANY TO DIVERT BACK TO DCA, OUR DEP ARPT. EVEN THOUGH WE LEFT THE HOLDING PATTERN WITH 1000 LBS OF FUEL MORE THAN THE MINIMUM, ENRTE WE BECAME FUEL CRITICAL. WE THEN DIVERTED TO BWI, 30 NM CLOSER, BUT DUE TO LARGE VOLUME OF TFC IN AREA REQUESTED PRIORITY HANDLING FOR CRITICAL FUEL. WE LANDED WITHOUT EVENT BUT HAD ONLY 37-39 MINS OF FUEL REMAINING. AS PREVIOUSLY STATED ALTHOUGH WE LEFT THE HOLDING PATTERN WITH 1000 LBS EXTRA FUEL, STRONG HEADWINDS AND LOWER THAN NORMAL ALTS GREATLY INCREASED OUR FUEL CONSUMPTION.

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.