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A B737 crew was not able to retract the flaps from the flaps 5 position after takeoff so they circled to burn down to landing weight and landed uneventfully. Communication with the company was difficult.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1275797 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201507 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801-2400 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | B737 Undifferentiated or Other Model |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Climb |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Flap Control (Trailing & Leading Edge) |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 135 Flight Crew Total 11500 Flight Crew Type 1849 |
| Person 2 | |
| Function | Pilot Not Flying First Officer |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 99 Flight Crew Type 230 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe |
Narrative:
Following an uneventful flaps 10 takeoff; on climbout after reaching 3;000 feet [AGL] and beginning to accelerate; the flaps stopped responding to flap lever commands at the flaps 5 position. Following completion of QRH procedures and consultation with dispatch; maintenance; my first officer; and the cabin crew; a return to and landing at the takeoff field was made after burning fuel down below maximum landing weight. The flaps 15 landing and taxi back to the gate were also uneventful. A logbook entry was made.we had a lot of difficulty getting a VHF phone patch with dispatch and maintenance to work reliably using [company communications] local frequency. After much frustration we resorted to using just the ACARS to communicate with the company. Also; I distinctly recall during simulator training flying this exact same scenario. Back then we were taught that we could get flaps 15 landing data from dispatch. Last night dispatch informed me that they do not have; and cannot provide flaps 15 landing data. We then calculated our own corrections using the appropriate charts in the QRH.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A B737 crew was not able to retract the flaps from the flaps 5 position after takeoff so they circled to burn down to landing weight and landed uneventfully. Communication with the company was difficult.
Narrative: Following an uneventful flaps 10 takeoff; on climbout after reaching 3;000 feet [AGL] and beginning to accelerate; the flaps stopped responding to flap lever commands at the flaps 5 position. Following completion of QRH procedures and consultation with Dispatch; maintenance; my First Officer; and the cabin crew; a return to and landing at the takeoff field was made after burning fuel down below maximum landing weight. The Flaps 15 landing and taxi back to the gate were also uneventful. A logbook entry was made.We had a lot of difficulty getting a VHF phone patch with Dispatch and maintenance to work reliably using [company communications] local frequency. After much frustration we resorted to using just the ACARS to communicate with the company. Also; I distinctly recall during simulator training flying this exact same scenario. Back then we were taught that we could get Flaps 15 landing data from dispatch. Last night Dispatch informed me that they do not have; and cannot provide Flaps 15 landing data. We then calculated our own corrections using the appropriate charts in the QRH.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.