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B737-800 first officer discovers flight plan route included a u-turn due to similarity of spelling of two waypoints.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 756580 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200710 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601 To 1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | airport : zzz.airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Altitude | agl single value : 0 |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | IMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Operator | common carrier : air carrier |
| Make Model Name | B737-800 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | ground : preflight |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Affiliation | company : air carrier |
| Function | flight crew : first officer |
| ASRS Report | 756580 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | aircraft equipment problem : less severe |
| Independent Detector | other flight crewa |
| Resolutory Action | other |
| Supplementary | |
| Problem Areas | Company Flight Crew Human Performance Aircraft |
| Primary Problem | Ambiguous |
Narrative:
When I saw the flight plan time for trip was 6:21; I thought that was unusually long. When I loaded the route in the FMS; I saw that there were a few sharp turns after the zzzzz intersection. The filed flight plan was entered. By verifying the route visually in the plan mode; I was able to see a big U turn in our route. Further examination of the high chart showed that there was another fix nearby with a similar name. The captain contacted dispatch and confirmed the error and a new flight plan and release were issued. The flight then departed without further delay. I think on our end we did everything right to trap the error. Flight plan from dispatch had the incorrect fix. Those fixes are a few hundred mi apart.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: B737-800 FO DISCOVERS FLT PLAN ROUTE INCLUDED A U-TURN DUE TO SIMILARITY OF SPELLING OF TWO WAYPOINTS.
Narrative: WHEN I SAW THE FLT PLAN TIME FOR TRIP WAS 6:21; I THOUGHT THAT WAS UNUSUALLY LONG. WHEN I LOADED THE RTE IN THE FMS; I SAW THAT THERE WERE A FEW SHARP TURNS AFTER THE ZZZZZ INTXN. THE FILED FLT PLAN WAS ENTERED. BY VERIFYING THE RTE VISUALLY IN THE PLAN MODE; I WAS ABLE TO SEE A BIG U TURN IN OUR RTE. FURTHER EXAM OF THE HIGH CHART SHOWED THAT THERE WAS ANOTHER FIX NEARBY WITH A SIMILAR NAME. THE CAPT CONTACTED DISPATCH AND CONFIRMED THE ERROR AND A NEW FLT PLAN AND RELEASE WERE ISSUED. THE FLT THEN DEPARTED WITHOUT FURTHER DELAY. I THINK ON OUR END WE DID EVERYTHING RIGHT TO TRAP THE ERROR. FLT PLAN FROM DISPATCH HAD THE INCORRECT FIX. THOSE FIXES ARE A FEW HUNDRED MI APART.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of January 2009 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.