Narrative:

This was my first trip after the ipad implementation. I pulled it out to see if it worked and it didn't. After initially signing in to unlock it; I tried to see if I could access my manuals. All I got was an error message stating my profile expired. I received no training on this piece of equipment; and I don't own a notepad (or whatever these things are called); so I had no idea what to do. I consulted the highly inadequate 'guide to [use] ipad' handout I received with it; and the bulletin regarding the ipad. Neither of these addressed this error message. I ended [up] taking it into the flight office before my flight to seek guidance. The expert said the ipad dumped everything; and he had to completely reload it. When I asked why this happened (so I make sure it doesn't happen again) he said something to the effect of: yeah; it just does that sometimes. Great! So there I may be; in the cockpit; in an emergency situation; trying to access my flight manual; and nothing! Once again this is a clear case of the company's 'ready; fire; aim' style of management. This device is not yet ready for implementation; and therefore not safe as the only reference device for our manuals.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A319 Captain reports trouble accessing material in his company issued iPad and suggests that it is not ready to replace paper charts and manuals.

Narrative: This was my first trip after the iPad implementation. I pulled it out to see if it worked and it didn't. After initially signing in to unlock it; I tried to see if I could access my manuals. All I got was an error message stating my profile expired. I received no training on this piece of equipment; and I don't own a notepad (or whatever these things are called); so I had no idea what to do. I consulted the highly inadequate 'guide to [use] iPad' handout I received with it; and the bulletin regarding the iPad. Neither of these addressed this error message. I ended [UP] taking it into the Flight Office before my flight to seek guidance. The expert said the iPad dumped everything; and he had to completely reload it. When I asked why this happened (so I make sure it doesn't happen again) he said something to the effect of: yeah; it just does that sometimes. Great! So there I may be; in the cockpit; in an emergency situation; trying to access my flight manual; and nothing! Once again this is a clear case of the company's 'ready; fire; aim' style of management. This device is not yet ready for implementation; and therefore not safe as the only reference device for our manuals.

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.