Narrative:

We were pushed back from the gate in lit and given an edct 45 minutes later. At the gate we had done the normal briefing and the ACARS weight & balance stated we needed flaps 20 for takeoff. I set the speeds for a flaps 20 takeoff and we briefed for a flaps 20 takeoff. We were pushed back out of the way on the ramp and sat waiting for our release time with the engines off. We were given a second edct extending time 45 more minutes so we waited until 15 minutes before that to start engines and taxi to the runway. As we finished the after start checklist I called for 'flaps 8'. As we were taxiing; ground told us ATC wanted us off in 4 minutes so he wanted us to expedite our taxi. The first officer did the taxi brief and started the left engine. I was going to talk to the passengers but ground came back on and said ATC changed their mind & we were to depart at our normal release time. Because of this I waited until the first officer was finished starting the engine and asked him to do the announcement. We did the before takeoff check and takeoff check; and took off with flaps 8. Upon calling for flaps up we both realized that we were supposed to be at flaps 20. The speeds were set for flaps 20 and we rotated with 3000 ft left on the runway. The aircraft rotated slightly sluggishly but not enough that I thought it was abnormal. There was no terrain off the end of the runway and the takeoff seemed normal other then the aircraft being a little sluggish on rotation. It accelerated normally as well. I never felt that safety was an issue based on the performance. We determined the event occurred when I called for flaps up. I called for flaps up and we both realized that they were suppose to be 20.I believe several factors led to the occurrence: 1. Because the area around lit was not terrain critical and runway 4R is 8250 ft; I had the mindset that flaps 8 is the correct setting. Because of this; I didn't give a second thought to the fact that they were set at 8 and not 20.2. There was 1.5 hours between the before start briefing and the actual after start check and I did not re-check the performance numbers before I called for the flaps. 3. ATC's request to expedite our taxi distracted both the first officer and me. Because of this; I was trying to taxi quicker then normal and watching where we were going while the first officer did the taxi briefing and I didn't catch everything he briefed and missed the flap setting part of his briefing. 4. The first officer didn't listen to his own briefing. This caused him to not catch that he had just briefed flaps 20 but on the before takeoff check we called flaps 8. There was nothing we could do other then climb out according to profile once we realized the error. There were never any terrain issues on the climb out.to avoid this happening again I will make it my procedure to go through the before start whenever there has been an extended period between the briefing and the actual start of the aircraft. I believe the procedures are adequate; however I believe setting the flaps in the position that the ACARS weight & balance calls for when you brief the performance numbers at the gate would possibly avoid this from occurring. Paying closer attention to the taxi brief also would have caught this problem and is something I will also be doing. I will do this by calling for the briefing just prior to the before takeoff check.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A CRJ crew finds they have taken off with an improper flap setting after an extended departure delay in spite of running required checklists.

Narrative: We were pushed back from the gate in LIT and given an EDCT 45 minutes later. At the gate we had done the normal briefing and the ACARS weight & balance stated we needed Flaps 20 for takeoff. I set the speeds for a Flaps 20 takeoff and we briefed for a Flaps 20 takeoff. We were pushed back out of the way on the ramp and sat waiting for our release time with the engines off. We were given a second EDCT extending time 45 more minutes so we waited until 15 minutes before that to start engines and taxi to the runway. As we finished the after start checklist I called for 'Flaps 8'. As we were taxiing; ground told us ATC wanted us off in 4 minutes so he wanted us to expedite our taxi. The First Officer did the taxi brief and started the left engine. I was going to talk to the passengers but ground came back on and said ATC changed their mind & we were to depart at our normal release time. Because of this I waited until the First Officer was finished starting the engine and asked him to do the announcement. We did the before takeoff check and takeoff check; and took off with Flaps 8. Upon calling for flaps up we both realized that we were supposed to be at Flaps 20. The speeds were set for Flaps 20 and we rotated with 3000 FT left on the runway. The aircraft rotated slightly sluggishly but not enough that I thought it was abnormal. There was no terrain off the end of the runway and the takeoff seemed normal other then the aircraft being a little sluggish on rotation. It accelerated normally as well. I never felt that safety was an issue based on the performance. We determined the event occurred when I called for flaps up. I called for flaps up and we both realized that they were suppose to be 20.I believe several factors led to the occurrence: 1. Because the area around LIT was not terrain critical and Runway 4R is 8250 FT; I had the mindset that Flaps 8 is the correct setting. Because of this; I didn't give a second thought to the fact that they were set at 8 and not 20.2. There was 1.5 hours between the before start briefing and the actual after start check and I did not re-check the performance numbers before I called for the flaps. 3. ATC's request to expedite our taxi distracted both the First Officer and me. Because of this; I was trying to taxi quicker then normal and watching where we were going while the First Officer did the taxi briefing and I didn't catch everything he briefed and missed the flap setting part of his briefing. 4. The First Officer didn't listen to his own briefing. This caused him to not catch that he had just briefed Flaps 20 but on the before takeoff check we called Flaps 8. There was nothing we could do other then climb out according to profile once we realized the error. There were never any terrain issues on the climb out.To avoid this happening again I will make it my procedure to go through the before start whenever there has been an extended period between the briefing and the actual start of the aircraft. I believe the procedures are adequate; however I believe setting the flaps in the position that the ACARS weight & balance calls for when you brief the performance numbers at the gate would possibly avoid this from occurring. Paying closer attention to the taxi brief also would have caught this problem and is something I will also be doing. I will do this by calling for the briefing just prior to the before takeoff check.

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.