A319 captain reports loss of fuel flow indication on the right engine during climb. Other fuel anoma...

Narrative:

During initial climb out we noticed there was no fuel flow indication on the right engine. There was no ECAM message associated with the problem (even though there should have been). After contacting maintenance control we decided to continue the flight. Then we noticed that there was a fuel imbalance of over 1;500 pounds just after passing 10;000 ft in the climb. The left outboard tank had less than 750 pounds and the left inboard tank had 1;000 pounds less than the right inboard tank. We went to the suspected fuel leak procedures and found that we couldn't compare parameters because there was no fuel flow on the right side; therefore; there was no fuel used indication. We also noticed that engine 1 had a fuel flow of over 7;900 pounds while in the climb over 10;000 ft. This seemed excessive. Also engine 1 egt was 465 degrees while engine 2 was 515 degrees C. We were in the clouds and it was getting dark so we couldn't check for a leak from the cabin windows. We decided the best course of action was to return to departure airport.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A319 Captain reports loss of fuel flow indication on the right engine during climb. Other fuel anomalies lead the crew to suspect a leak but the lack of fuel flow indication prevent the crew from preforming leak assessment procedures. The crew returned to their departure airport without incident.

Narrative: During initial climb out we noticed there was no fuel flow indication on the right engine. There was no ECAM message associated with the problem (even though there should have been). After contacting Maintenance Control we decided to continue the flight. Then we noticed that there was a fuel imbalance of over 1;500 LBS just after passing 10;000 FT in the climb. The left outboard tank had less than 750 LBS and the left inboard tank had 1;000 LBS less than the right inboard tank. We went to the suspected fuel leak procedures and found that we couldn't compare parameters because there was no fuel flow on the right side; therefore; there was no fuel used indication. We also noticed that engine 1 had a fuel flow of over 7;900 LBS while in the climb over 10;000 FT. This seemed excessive. Also engine 1 EGT was 465 degrees while engine 2 was 515 degrees C. We were in the clouds and it was getting dark so we couldn't check for a leak from the cabin windows. We decided the best course of action was to return to departure airport.

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	929957
Time
Date	201101
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.ARTCC
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	IMC
Light	Dusk
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	A319
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Cruise
Component
Aircraft Component	Fuel Flow Indication
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe

A319 captain reports loss of fuel flow indication on the right engine during climb. Other fuel anomalies lead the crew to suspect a leak but the lack of fuel flow indication prevent the crew from preforming leak assessment procedures. The crew returned to their departure airport without incident.