Narrative:

We were contacted by dispatch informing us to stick to the flight plan due to severe winds aloft along our flight path. Upon this communication; determined to use the lrc mode of the FMS to get the best fuel consumption from our aircraft. We were filed at FL360 at mach .78. We climbed to FL380 due to lesser winds and the FMS computer mach .77 taking into consideration the headwinds. Once we got to abc VOR; center started with their flow control. They had us slow to mach .74 for quite some time and vectored us a few times as well when we were still 500 miles or more from the airport. I then started to notice that we were getting tight on fuel. After some time; I requested to speed up as much as they would allow to fight these winds and then later declared 'minimal fuel.' as we started our descent; I noticed the FMS fuel quantity at landing starting to diminish. The first officer and I discussed that if we saw it get to 2;200 pounds at any point we would declare emergency fuel. We also discussed our options as far as landing at a different airport if we experienced further delay. Once on downwind leg for runway xx we saw lots of traffic on final; with final extending over 20 miles. At this point our fuel was at 2;400 pounds; both fuel gauges were 'amber;' and we still had no idea how long we would be flying away from the airport. I then got on the radios which were extremely busy and started my communication with 'pan pan' to express an urgency call. My intentions were to inform ATC of our concern of being at 'emergency fuel.' he continued with what he was doing. I stated this several more times and finally got a response from the controller; 'roger; flight xyz' and then continued with what he was doing. The supervisor finally got on the radio and I was able to express my concern. During this time period we also received an RA from traffic 500 ft below that had never been mentioned to us. We complied with the RA and then changed runways to runway yr and landed safely. When someone states 'pan pan' on the radio; as per our flight manual; the controller and everyone else on the radio should not interfere with the urgency transmission (unless someone else is in distress). Also; they should have informed us of the traffic which resulted in an RA to climb. From the dispatch side of things; obviously the dispatcher was aware of the severe winds aloft. Hence; we received the phone call. In this known hazard; additional fuel should be tankered (especially going into busy airport) as a buffer for any unknown delay.

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: EMB170 flight crew reports declaring a fuel emergency during approach due to ATC delays. Initial response to declaration is 'Roger.' Crew eventually receives vectors to a different runway.

Narrative: We were contacted by Dispatch informing us to stick to the flight plan due to severe winds aloft along our flight path. Upon this communication; determined to use the LRC mode of the FMS to get the best fuel consumption from our aircraft. We were filed at FL360 at Mach .78. We climbed to FL380 due to lesser winds and the FMS computer Mach .77 taking into consideration the headwinds. Once we got to ABC VOR; Center started with their flow control. They had us slow to Mach .74 for quite some time and vectored us a few times as well when we were still 500 miles or more from the airport. I then started to notice that we were getting tight on fuel. After some time; I requested to speed up as much as they would allow to fight these winds and then later declared 'minimal fuel.' As we started our descent; I noticed the FMS fuel quantity at landing starting to diminish. The First Officer and I discussed that if we saw it get to 2;200 LBS at any point we would declare Emergency Fuel. We also discussed our options as far as landing at a different airport if we experienced further delay. Once on downwind leg for Runway XX we saw lots of traffic on final; with final extending over 20 miles. At this point our fuel was at 2;400 LBS; both fuel gauges were 'amber;' and we still had no idea how long we would be flying away from the airport. I then got on the radios which were extremely busy and started my communication with 'Pan Pan' to express an urgency call. My intentions were to inform ATC of our concern of being at 'emergency fuel.' He continued with what he was doing. I stated this several more times and finally got a response from the Controller; 'Roger; Flight XYZ' and then continued with what he was doing. The Supervisor finally got on the radio and I was able to express my concern. During this time period we also received an RA from traffic 500 FT below that had never been mentioned to us. We complied with the RA and then changed runways to Runway YR and landed safely. When someone states 'Pan Pan' on the radio; as per our Flight Manual; the Controller and everyone else on the radio should not interfere with the urgency transmission (unless someone else is in distress). Also; they should have informed us of the traffic which resulted in an RA to climb. From the Dispatch side of things; obviously the Dispatcher was aware of the severe winds aloft. Hence; we received the phone call. In this known hazard; additional fuel should be tankered (especially going into busy airport) as a buffer for any unknown delay.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.