Narrative:

I was the captain of flight flying to bwi. The dispatcher had not assigned us an alternate (with alternate fuel) and after seeing taf I was given at XA10Z; I could see why he made this choice. You should know that in the departure airport our company contracts the services of a gate handler. The pilots don't have any real office where we can go to view any WX internet websites. We took off with 18000 pounds of fuel and we were forecast to land with about 6700 pounds. On this day; the maryland area was experiencing very hot summer conditions. No normal type fronts were forecast to push WX through the area. But that afternoon temperatures got into the mid 90's and the dew points were in the 70's. Thunderstorms were created near the virginia mountains by the humid and hot conditions. What was not really anticipated was that they would have just enough physics to not die after sunset and to form with one another into a thin (2-3 mi wide) but very long (over 70 mi) northeast to southwest line of activity west of dc. This line then began to solidify and start a slow march to the east after we took off. As we flew northwest across the ocean I did use the ACARS to get updates on bwi metars. They didn't show anything that we particularly had to worry about -- probably because the line was still west of bwi. Oceanic ATC started us on descent earlier than our release had planned in its vertical fuel calculations. This burned some more fuel than had been anticipated. As we flew west and the shore of delaware was in front of us we could tell that there was thunderstorm activity over the general dc area. We got closer and it became apparent that ATC was extremely busy because the line of WX was effectively splitting their world into 2 distinct hemispheres -- one behind the WX and other to the east of the line. As the thunderstorms passed over bwi they had wind shifts and this necessitated turning the airport around to other landing runways. We originally had been on vectors for runway 10 at a position south of bwi. But then they had to re-vector us counterclockwise about 230 degrees around the east side of bwi to get us in line for runway 15R. This flying ate up more gas than usual because there were very few available gaps in the line of WX for planes to get through. There was area turbulence and lots of lightning so that all tended to make the brain a bit more uptempo/anxious as so many planes all wanted the only gap in the line. As we were receiving vectors at 15-18 mi out the rain and lightning was hitting the field on the ese side of the property. The controllers were very busy and this WX had them operating at the upper edge of their abilities. Our final base vector turn to the ILS was not the best. They had us tight and high with too shallow an angle since the winds from the west at 2000-3000 ft were much stronger (+35-40 KTS) than what was reported on the field (ie; 8 KTS from the southeast). There was also lots of lightning in the area so I had the first officer turn on the overhead dome light to the brightest setting so our eyes would be ready if a bolt struck the plane. Once on final about 8 mi out; the plane in front of us reported over 20 KTS of airspeed change. As we were coming in; we experienced some of this same and then actually more of this windshear. The indicated speed rose in a steady (not abrupt) manner and the plane seemed to have a cushion of air below it that kept us above the ideal GS track. I was the PF and I elected to execute a missed approach when at about 900 ft it was obvious we were too high and too fast to make the approach end of the runway at the proper speed. The missed through the curtain of intense WX then again took us back over to the eastern side of this pronounced line of WX. This was not the area that one would want to be when ATC was maximum'ed and the WX had very few gaps in it. ATC was also having separation issues with another aircraft and they told us to perform a 360 degree turn. More gas used up on this. With fuel on board now around 4700 pounds I declared minimum fuel as per our gom because I knew that we would not be landing with more than 4000 pounds. Then they sent us north for a long trip to go for the only decent gap in the line to get us back over for a runway 15 approach. I considered that flying to phl might make more sense from a straight line; fuel to burn aspect; but the WX was moving onto that flight path and basically occluded that option. It would hit phl right when we got there and that would make for more delays. Dover AFB was a diversion option but the gap in the WX was widening and ATC told me that there would not be any delays getting us over to the runway 15 final. Lots of vectoring and low altitude flying ensued. We burned gas but got over to the extended runway 15 final. If there were going to be any more delays; then we would have to declare emergency fuel. No windshear and we came over the approach runway lights with 3000 pounds of fuel. There had been a lot of aircraft on the airport txwys with ground holds waiting for the WX to pass over. This made our taxi-in longer than usual. I have never landed with so little fuel. Not a good feeling at all. Most of this dilemma was attributable to just fate; timing and a sequence of events that rolled one item on top of the other. If we had naturally arrived at bwi either 15 mins before or 15 mins later than we had; there would have been far less area vectoring. I would love to be able to pull up the radar loop for the 1 hour in question as it transited the bwi area. If you have that ability; please mail me a copy on a disk or vhs tape. The first officer performed well and we did all checklists and communicated with our company and the passenger. Would have; could have; should have. I can think of only a short list of things that I/we had control over that might have lessened our dilemma. In a perfect world; I could have gotten an updated taf from the ACARS while nwbound over the ocean. My dispatcher could/should have sent me a text message when he saw how well formed that line of WX was becoming. I could have slowed the aircraft down to conserve fuel. Maybe he should have originally assigned us an alternate and thus more gas? After I saw how the bad first final vector to the runway 15R localizer was turning out; I could have asked him to fly us across the final and make a right 270 degree turn to be re-sequenced. I really wish I had imagined that possibility. If we hadn't had the windshear encounter this wouldn't have happened. Or instead of doing the normal missed approach over the field; due to the position of the local WX; I wish during the wind speed up creep/windshear I had had the flash of brilliance to break off the approach and ask bwi tower for quick vectors to keep us on the west side of the line. But that would have made for some very low flying over the ground. After our missed; I wished that there were some long runway airports for a 170 passenger jet southeast of bwi on the delmarva peninsula. To the west of the line there was ric; iad; dca and harrisburg but to the east very little. Sby is only 5500 ft long. One thing I am glad about was that on the first downwind to base vectoring sequence I told the first officer that due to the steep WX over bwi we were going to employ the potential windshear/downdraft airbus technique and make the approach at flaps 3 degrees instead of full. This aided us as we transitioned from the downward for landing trajectory to the toga time to climb phase. The flight wrapped up safely. But this entire ordeal was right on the edge of many lines.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: MULTIPLE FLT PLANNING; ENROUTE AND TERMINAL AREA EXIGENCIES RESULT IN A320 LANDING WITH LESS THAN MINIMUM DESIRED FUEL.

Narrative: I WAS THE CAPT OF FLT FLYING TO BWI. THE DISPATCHER HAD NOT ASSIGNED US AN ALTERNATE (WITH ALTERNATE FUEL) AND AFTER SEEING TAF I WAS GIVEN AT XA10Z; I COULD SEE WHY HE MADE THIS CHOICE. YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT IN THE DEP ARPT OUR COMPANY CONTRACTS THE SVCS OF A GATE HANDLER. THE PLTS DON'T HAVE ANY REAL OFFICE WHERE WE CAN GO TO VIEW ANY WX INTERNET WEBSITES. WE TOOK OFF WITH 18000 LBS OF FUEL AND WE WERE FORECAST TO LAND WITH ABOUT 6700 LBS. ON THIS DAY; THE MARYLAND AREA WAS EXPERIENCING VERY HOT SUMMER CONDITIONS. NO NORMAL TYPE FRONTS WERE FORECAST TO PUSH WX THROUGH THE AREA. BUT THAT AFTERNOON TEMPS GOT INTO THE MID 90'S AND THE DEW POINTS WERE IN THE 70'S. TSTMS WERE CREATED NEAR THE VIRGINIA MOUNTAINS BY THE HUMID AND HOT CONDITIONS. WHAT WAS NOT REALLY ANTICIPATED WAS THAT THEY WOULD HAVE JUST ENOUGH PHYSICS TO NOT DIE AFTER SUNSET AND TO FORM WITH ONE ANOTHER INTO A THIN (2-3 MI WIDE) BUT VERY LONG (OVER 70 MI) NE TO SW LINE OF ACTIVITY W OF DC. THIS LINE THEN BEGAN TO SOLIDIFY AND START A SLOW MARCH TO THE E AFTER WE TOOK OFF. AS WE FLEW NW ACROSS THE OCEAN I DID USE THE ACARS TO GET UPDATES ON BWI METARS. THEY DIDN'T SHOW ANYTHING THAT WE PARTICULARLY HAD TO WORRY ABOUT -- PROBABLY BECAUSE THE LINE WAS STILL W OF BWI. OCEANIC ATC STARTED US ON DSCNT EARLIER THAN OUR RELEASE HAD PLANNED IN ITS VERT FUEL CALCULATIONS. THIS BURNED SOME MORE FUEL THAN HAD BEEN ANTICIPATED. AS WE FLEW W AND THE SHORE OF DELAWARE WAS IN FRONT OF US WE COULD TELL THAT THERE WAS TSTM ACTIVITY OVER THE GENERAL DC AREA. WE GOT CLOSER AND IT BECAME APPARENT THAT ATC WAS EXTREMELY BUSY BECAUSE THE LINE OF WX WAS EFFECTIVELY SPLITTING THEIR WORLD INTO 2 DISTINCT HEMISPHERES -- ONE BEHIND THE WX AND OTHER TO THE E OF THE LINE. AS THE TSTMS PASSED OVER BWI THEY HAD WIND SHIFTS AND THIS NECESSITATED TURNING THE ARPT AROUND TO OTHER LNDG RWYS. WE ORIGINALLY HAD BEEN ON VECTORS FOR RWY 10 AT A POS S OF BWI. BUT THEN THEY HAD TO RE-VECTOR US COUNTERCLOCKWISE ABOUT 230 DEGS AROUND THE E SIDE OF BWI TO GET US IN LINE FOR RWY 15R. THIS FLYING ATE UP MORE GAS THAN USUAL BECAUSE THERE WERE VERY FEW AVAILABLE GAPS IN THE LINE OF WX FOR PLANES TO GET THROUGH. THERE WAS AREA TURB AND LOTS OF LIGHTNING SO THAT ALL TENDED TO MAKE THE BRAIN A BIT MORE UPTEMPO/ANXIOUS AS SO MANY PLANES ALL WANTED THE ONLY GAP IN THE LINE. AS WE WERE RECEIVING VECTORS AT 15-18 MI OUT THE RAIN AND LIGHTNING WAS HITTING THE FIELD ON THE ESE SIDE OF THE PROPERTY. THE CTLRS WERE VERY BUSY AND THIS WX HAD THEM OPERATING AT THE UPPER EDGE OF THEIR ABILITIES. OUR FINAL BASE VECTOR TURN TO THE ILS WAS NOT THE BEST. THEY HAD US TIGHT AND HIGH WITH TOO SHALLOW AN ANGLE SINCE THE WINDS FROM THE W AT 2000-3000 FT WERE MUCH STRONGER (+35-40 KTS) THAN WHAT WAS RPTED ON THE FIELD (IE; 8 KTS FROM THE SE). THERE WAS ALSO LOTS OF LIGHTNING IN THE AREA SO I HAD THE FO TURN ON THE OVERHEAD DOME LIGHT TO THE BRIGHTEST SETTING SO OUR EYES WOULD BE READY IF A BOLT STRUCK THE PLANE. ONCE ON FINAL ABOUT 8 MI OUT; THE PLANE IN FRONT OF US RPTED OVER 20 KTS OF AIRSPD CHANGE. AS WE WERE COMING IN; WE EXPERIENCED SOME OF THIS SAME AND THEN ACTUALLY MORE OF THIS WINDSHEAR. THE INDICATED SPD ROSE IN A STEADY (NOT ABRUPT) MANNER AND THE PLANE SEEMED TO HAVE A CUSHION OF AIR BELOW IT THAT KEPT US ABOVE THE IDEAL GS TRACK. I WAS THE PF AND I ELECTED TO EXECUTE A MISSED APCH WHEN AT ABOUT 900 FT IT WAS OBVIOUS WE WERE TOO HIGH AND TOO FAST TO MAKE THE APCH END OF THE RWY AT THE PROPER SPD. THE MISSED THROUGH THE CURTAIN OF INTENSE WX THEN AGAIN TOOK US BACK OVER TO THE EASTERN SIDE OF THIS PRONOUNCED LINE OF WX. THIS WAS NOT THE AREA THAT ONE WOULD WANT TO BE WHEN ATC WAS MAX'ED AND THE WX HAD VERY FEW GAPS IN IT. ATC WAS ALSO HAVING SEPARATION ISSUES WITH ANOTHER ACFT AND THEY TOLD US TO PERFORM A 360 DEG TURN. MORE GAS USED UP ON THIS. WITH FUEL ON BOARD NOW AROUND 4700 LBS I DECLARED MINIMUM FUEL AS PER OUR GOM BECAUSE I KNEW THAT WE WOULD NOT BE LNDG WITH MORE THAN 4000 LBS. THEN THEY SENT US N FOR A LONG TRIP TO GO FOR THE ONLY DECENT GAP IN THE LINE TO GET US BACK OVER FOR A RWY 15 APCH. I CONSIDERED THAT FLYING TO PHL MIGHT MAKE MORE SENSE FROM A STRAIGHT LINE; FUEL TO BURN ASPECT; BUT THE WX WAS MOVING ONTO THAT FLT PATH AND BASICALLY OCCLUDED THAT OPTION. IT WOULD HIT PHL RIGHT WHEN WE GOT THERE AND THAT WOULD MAKE FOR MORE DELAYS. DOVER AFB WAS A DIVERSION OPTION BUT THE GAP IN THE WX WAS WIDENING AND ATC TOLD ME THAT THERE WOULD NOT BE ANY DELAYS GETTING US OVER TO THE RWY 15 FINAL. LOTS OF VECTORING AND LOW ALT FLYING ENSUED. WE BURNED GAS BUT GOT OVER TO THE EXTENDED RWY 15 FINAL. IF THERE WERE GOING TO BE ANY MORE DELAYS; THEN WE WOULD HAVE TO DECLARE EMER FUEL. NO WINDSHEAR AND WE CAME OVER THE APCH RWY LIGHTS WITH 3000 LBS OF FUEL. THERE HAD BEEN A LOT OF ACFT ON THE ARPT TXWYS WITH GND HOLDS WAITING FOR THE WX TO PASS OVER. THIS MADE OUR TAXI-IN LONGER THAN USUAL. I HAVE NEVER LANDED WITH SO LITTLE FUEL. NOT A GOOD FEELING AT ALL. MOST OF THIS DILEMMA WAS ATTRIBUTABLE TO JUST FATE; TIMING AND A SEQUENCE OF EVENTS THAT ROLLED ONE ITEM ON TOP OF THE OTHER. IF WE HAD NATURALLY ARRIVED AT BWI EITHER 15 MINS BEFORE OR 15 MINS LATER THAN WE HAD; THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN FAR LESS AREA VECTORING. I WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO PULL UP THE RADAR LOOP FOR THE 1 HR IN QUESTION AS IT TRANSITED THE BWI AREA. IF YOU HAVE THAT ABILITY; PLEASE MAIL ME A COPY ON A DISK OR VHS TAPE. THE FO PERFORMED WELL AND WE DID ALL CHKLISTS AND COMMUNICATED WITH OUR COMPANY AND THE PAX. WOULD HAVE; COULD HAVE; SHOULD HAVE. I CAN THINK OF ONLY A SHORT LIST OF THINGS THAT I/WE HAD CTL OVER THAT MIGHT HAVE LESSENED OUR DILEMMA. IN A PERFECT WORLD; I COULD HAVE GOTTEN AN UPDATED TAF FROM THE ACARS WHILE NWBOUND OVER THE OCEAN. MY DISPATCHER COULD/SHOULD HAVE SENT ME A TEXT MESSAGE WHEN HE SAW HOW WELL FORMED THAT LINE OF WX WAS BECOMING. I COULD HAVE SLOWED THE ACFT DOWN TO CONSERVE FUEL. MAYBE HE SHOULD HAVE ORIGINALLY ASSIGNED US AN ALTERNATE AND THUS MORE GAS? AFTER I SAW HOW THE BAD FIRST FINAL VECTOR TO THE RWY 15R LOC WAS TURNING OUT; I COULD HAVE ASKED HIM TO FLY US ACROSS THE FINAL AND MAKE A R 270 DEG TURN TO BE RE-SEQUENCED. I REALLY WISH I HAD IMAGINED THAT POSSIBILITY. IF WE HADN'T HAD THE WINDSHEAR ENCOUNTER THIS WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED. OR INSTEAD OF DOING THE NORMAL MISSED APCH OVER THE FIELD; DUE TO THE POS OF THE LCL WX; I WISH DURING THE WIND SPD UP CREEP/WINDSHEAR I HAD HAD THE FLASH OF BRILLIANCE TO BREAK OFF THE APCH AND ASK BWI TWR FOR QUICK VECTORS TO KEEP US ON THE W SIDE OF THE LINE. BUT THAT WOULD HAVE MADE FOR SOME VERY LOW FLYING OVER THE GND. AFTER OUR MISSED; I WISHED THAT THERE WERE SOME LONG RWY ARPTS FOR A 170 PAX JET SE OF BWI ON THE DELMARVA PENINSULA. TO THE W OF THE LINE THERE WAS RIC; IAD; DCA AND HARRISBURG BUT TO THE E VERY LITTLE. SBY IS ONLY 5500 FT LONG. ONE THING I AM GLAD ABOUT WAS THAT ON THE FIRST DOWNWIND TO BASE VECTORING SEQUENCE I TOLD THE FO THAT DUE TO THE STEEP WX OVER BWI WE WERE GOING TO EMPLOY THE POTENTIAL WINDSHEAR/DOWNDRAFT AIRBUS TECHNIQUE AND MAKE THE APCH AT FLAPS 3 DEGS INSTEAD OF FULL. THIS AIDED US AS WE TRANSITIONED FROM THE DOWNWARD FOR LNDG TRAJECTORY TO THE TOGA TIME TO CLB PHASE. THE FLT WRAPPED UP SAFELY. BUT THIS ENTIRE ORDEAL WAS RIGHT ON THE EDGE OF MANY LINES.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of May 2009 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.