An incorrect flex temperature setting in a Cobham-operated Boeing 717 flight management system (
Prior to the operation of a QantasLink flight between Canberra and Sydney, the captain prepared the cockpit, entering 40C as the flex temperature, says the Australian Transport Safety Board (ATSB) in its final report on the incident.
When the first officer returned from a visual inspection of the aircraft, he changed this to 39C on the aircraft’s take-off and landing data (TOLD) card. He amended the other parameters this would affect, namely engine pressure, flap settings, and take-off reference speeds.
As the crew readied the aircraft, there were several distractions, including a flight attendant informing the crew that 22 additional passengers were joining the flight, adding 2t of weight.
The first officer recalculated takeoff data, and arrived at a new flex temperature: 34C. As there was little room on the TOLD card, he simply over-wrote the previous entry, 39C.
When the crew reprogrammed the FMS
The net result was that the aircraft’s
“As the short sector to Sydney was busy, the crew waited until the aircraft had arrived in Sydney before discussing the incident. Both members of the flight crew assessed that tiredness due to the early start may have contributed to the flex temperature error, but that they were fit to continue to operate for the remainder of the day’s duty,” says the ATSB.
The ATSB reported the findings in its final report about the
It adds that as a result of this incident, the operator will require flight crews to create a new TOLD card if data is being changed, and “comprehension of these changes is not clear”.
FlightGlobal’s Fleets Analyzer database shows that the aircraft involved, VH-YQV, is managed by Boeing Capital.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
