The flight crew of a crj-700 immediately rejected their takeoff when they noted they had lost most o...

Attributes
ACN	1081332
Time
Date	201304
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Regional Jet 700 ER/LR (CRJ700)
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Takeoff
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Cockpit Lighting
Person 1
Function	First Officer Pilot Not Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe

Narrative:

As soon as we applied takeoff power and just at or after break release we noticed that the ED1; ed 2; FMS and rtu screens were blank. We pulled the power back; executed the memory items; followed the rejected takeoff checklist and exited the runway.we then adjusted the display rheostat and the back lights came [back] on. I believe I bumped the rheostat with the pen in my hand or my hand. We both manipulated the knob several times to replicate the conditions. We performed all necessary checklists; notified dispatch and completed the flight without incident. Our training prepares us to make safe and fast decisions under high workload/mental saturation conditions. The decision to abort was easy as the safety of the abort was never in question and we were missing most of our display screens.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: The flight crew of a CRJ-700 immediately rejected their takeoff when they noted they had lost most of their multi function displays as takeoff thrust was being applied. They determined the associated rheostat had been inadvertently dimmed during final takeoff preparations.

Narrative: As soon as we applied takeoff power and just at or after break release we noticed that the ED1; ED 2; FMS and RTU screens were blank. We pulled the power back; executed the memory items; followed the rejected takeoff checklist and exited the runway.We then adjusted the display rheostat and the back lights came [back] on. I believe I bumped the rheostat with the pen in my hand or my hand. We both manipulated the knob several times to replicate the conditions. We performed all necessary checklists; notified Dispatch and completed the flight without incident. Our training prepares us to make safe and fast decisions under high workload/mental saturation conditions. The decision to abort was easy as the safety of the abort was never in question and we were missing most of our display screens.

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.

The flight crew of a crj-700 immediately rejected their takeoff when they noted they had lost most of their multi function displays as takeoff thrust was being applied. They determined the associated rheostat had been inadvertently dimmed during final takeoff preparations.