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Scheduled aircraft swap not made when B737 PIC finds he is flying the wrong tail number that everyone else missed during preflight at bwi, md.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 517320 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200107 |
| Day | Tue |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201 To 1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | airport : bwi.airport |
| State Reference | MD |
| Altitude | agl single value : 0 |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Operator | common carrier : air carrier |
| Make Model Name | B737-300 |
| Flight Phase | ground : preflight |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Affiliation | company : air carrier |
| Function | flight crew : captain oversight : pic |
| Qualification | pilot : atp |
| Experience | flight time last 90 days : 220 flight time total : 11000 flight time type : 9000 |
| ASRS Report | 517320 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | maintenance problem : improper documentation non adherence : far non adherence : company policies other anomaly other |
| Resolutory Action | none taken : detected after the fact |
| Supplementary | |
| Problem Areas | Company Maintenance Human Performance Aircraft |
Narrative:
Wrong aircraft tail number on release. Unscheduled aircraft swap after first leg of the day (alb-bwi), approximately 1 hour of ground time. Sometime during climb out, I noticed the aircraft tail number on the release was xxy which was the aircraft we were scheduled to fly prior to the swap. It should have been tail xxz. All other information on the release was correct. The release was prepared by the 'midnight shift' dispatcher. The dispatcher on duty for this flight failed to check or modify the release (even though my first release, (alb-bwi) prepared by the midnight shift as well, had the aircraft swap in the remarks section. I feel that dispatch did contribute to this problem, but bottom line is I should have caught it before pushback. One question this raises is, why do we have the midnight shift prepare the releases and then have a dispatcher shift change right when all originators are pushing? It would make more sense to have the shift change mid morning or well before most originators are pushing.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: SCHEDULED ACFT SWAP NOT MADE WHEN B737 PIC FINDS HE IS FLYING THE WRONG TAIL NUMBER THAT EVERYONE ELSE MISSED DURING PREFLT AT BWI, MD.
Narrative: WRONG ACFT TAIL NUMBER ON RELEASE. UNSCHEDULED ACFT SWAP AFTER FIRST LEG OF THE DAY (ALB-BWI), APPROX 1 HR OF GND TIME. SOMETIME DURING CLBOUT, I NOTICED THE ACFT TAIL NUMBER ON THE RELEASE WAS XXY WHICH WAS THE ACFT WE WERE SCHEDULED TO FLY PRIOR TO THE SWAP. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN TAIL XXZ. ALL OTHER INFO ON THE RELEASE WAS CORRECT. THE RELEASE WAS PREPARED BY THE 'MIDNIGHT SHIFT' DISPATCHER. THE DISPATCHER ON DUTY FOR THIS FLT FAILED TO CHK OR MODIFY THE RELEASE (EVEN THOUGH MY FIRST RELEASE, (ALB-BWI) PREPARED BY THE MIDNIGHT SHIFT AS WELL, HAD THE ACFT SWAP IN THE REMARKS SECTION. I FEEL THAT DISPATCH DID CONTRIBUTE TO THIS PROB, BUT BOTTOM LINE IS I SHOULD HAVE CAUGHT IT BEFORE PUSHBACK. ONE QUESTION THIS RAISES IS, WHY DO WE HAVE THE MIDNIGHT SHIFT PREPARE THE RELEASES AND THEN HAVE A DISPATCHER SHIFT CHANGE RIGHT WHEN ALL ORIGINATORS ARE PUSHING? IT WOULD MAKE MORE SENSE TO HAVE THE SHIFT CHANGE MID MORNING OR WELL BEFORE MOST ORIGINATORS ARE PUSHING.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.