B757 captain experienced right oil filter EICAS message after level off. QRH states 'crew awareness'...

Narrative:

Shortly after level off in cruise; [there was a] EICAS 'right oil filter' advisory message. QRH states 'crew awareness.' [we] consulted with dispatch and maintenance control regarding additional information and aircraft history. No history noted. All engine parameters were normal. About 70 minutes later; right engine began a rapid loss of oil. Declared emergency; shut down engine and diverted. First officer did great job handling many checklists; communicating with ATC; arff; etc. Flight attendants did great job with passengers. I do believe strongly that this QRH procedure; like others in the 757/767 manuals tend to lead you down the garden path with no guidance or misleading verbiage (i.e. 'Crew awareness' seems very benign. Yet in this case there is an engine with a major problem.) I'm glad this wasn't at night; in the snow or over water; etc. It would be much more prudent to perform a precautionary landing on two engines which is what I will do in the future despite 'crew awareness.'

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B757 Captain experienced R OIL FILTER EICAS message after level off. QRH states 'crew awareness'. Maintenance says 'press on'. Seventy minutes later a rapid loss of oil was noted from the same engine. Emergency declared; engine shutdown; and flight diverted to the nearest suitable airport.

Narrative: Shortly after level off in cruise; [there was a] EICAS 'R OIL FILTER' advisory message. QRH states 'crew awareness.' [We] consulted with Dispatch and Maintenance Control regarding additional information and aircraft history. No history noted. All engine parameters were normal. About 70 minutes later; right engine began a rapid loss of oil. Declared emergency; shut down engine and diverted. First Officer did great job handling many checklists; communicating with ATC; ARFF; etc. Flight Attendants did great job with passengers. I do believe strongly that this QRH procedure; like others in the 757/767 manuals tend to lead you down the garden path with no guidance or misleading verbiage (i.e. 'crew awareness' seems very benign. Yet in this case there is an engine with a major problem.) I'm glad this wasn't at night; in the snow or over water; etc. It would be much more prudent to perform a precautionary landing on two engines which is what I will do in the future despite 'crew awareness.'

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.

Attributes
ACN	896040
Time
Date	201006
Local Time Of Day	0001-0600
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.ARTCC
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B757 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Cruise
Component
Aircraft Component	Oil Filter
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

B757 captain experienced right oil filter EICAS message after level off. QRH states 'crew awareness'. Maintenance says 'press on'. Seventy minutes later a rapid loss of oil was noted from the same engine. Emergency declared; engine shutdown; and flight diverted to the nearest suitable airport.