Narrative:

During cruise the captain and I noticed that the wing tanks were starting to decrease in quantity with fuel in the center. We executed the appropriate checklist and successfully stopped the fuel from decreasing from the wings. After talking to dispatch and maintenance we concluded that we had plenty of fuel to continue the flight. We asked dispatch to run a weight and balance for landing and were assured we were well within limits. As a precaution we declared an emergency since we were in an abnormal fuel situation.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: MD82 First Officer notices wing fuel beginning to to decrease in cruise with fuel remaining in the center tank. Checklist procedures are complied with; reversing the trend and allowing the flight to continue to destination.

Narrative: During cruise the Captain and I noticed that the wing tanks were starting to decrease in quantity with fuel in the center. We executed the appropriate checklist and successfully stopped the fuel from decreasing from the wings. After talking to Dispatch and Maintenance we concluded that we had plenty of fuel to continue the flight. We asked Dispatch to run a weight and balance for landing and were assured we were well within limits. As a precaution we declared an emergency since we were in an abnormal fuel situation.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 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.