Narrative:

While in cruise at FL380 I noticed the oil quantity indicator on the left engine slowly go down to zero. I pushed the event record button at this time. All other engine parameters appeared normal. I sent a message to maintenance control and initiated a phone patch to maintenance control; via our dispatcher. While talking to maintenance control the oil pressure indicator began to decrease slowly. At approximately 100-90 psi the left engine oil pressure light began to flicker on and off. I instructed the pilot flying to begin a descent and to expect a possible engine failure/shut down.shortly afterwards; the left engine low oil press light illuminated on EICAS and the left engine oil press light came on steady. I asked the dispatcher where he would like us to land and he stated ZZZ was right in front us. I directed a deadheading pilot in the jump seat to get the proper checklists out and said good bye to maintenance control and dispatch. The first officer declared an emergency and requested vectors to ZZZ; and to have crash fire rescue equipment standing by for our landing. ATC provided excellent assistance during the entire event. The pilot in the jump seat and I worked on the appropriate check lists and shut down the engine (we waited the required 2 minutes) in accordance with SOP. The first officer continued flying the aircraft and communicating with ATC. The engine oil press got as low as 40 psi prior to shutdown. I told the pilot in the jump seat to advise the flight attendants of the situation and to have them prepare the cabin accordingly. The weather in ZZZ was clear and the winds were 190/5. I elected to land on the longest runway (over 10;000 ft). The first officer flew the approach and greased the landing. After landing I explained to the passengers that we had to shut an engine down due to an oil leak. The passengers gave the crew an ovation. Within 15 minutes after landing. Buses met the passengers on the apron and took them to the terminal. The company sent another aircraft to pick up the passengers in order to get them to their destination. The flight attendants; who did a great job during the entire process; continued with the passengers.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B757-200 flight crew declared an emergency; diverted to a nearby airport and landed safely following the inflight shutdown of the left engine due to the loss of oil pressure and quantity.

Narrative: While in cruise at FL380 I noticed the oil quantity indicator on the left engine slowly go down to zero. I pushed the event record button at this time. All other engine parameters appeared normal. I sent a message to Maintenance Control and initiated a phone patch to Maintenance Control; via our Dispatcher. While talking to Maintenance Control the oil pressure indicator began to decrease slowly. At approximately 100-90 PSI the left engine oil pressure light began to flicker on and off. I instructed the pilot flying to begin a descent and to expect a possible engine failure/shut down.Shortly afterwards; the left engine low oil press light illuminated on EICAS and the left engine oil press light came on steady. I asked the Dispatcher where he would like us to land and he stated ZZZ was right in front us. I directed a deadheading pilot in the jump seat to get the proper checklists out and said good bye to Maintenance Control and Dispatch. The First Officer declared an emergency and requested vectors to ZZZ; and to have CFR standing by for our landing. ATC provided excellent assistance during the entire event. The pilot in the jump seat and I worked on the appropriate check lists and shut down the engine (we waited the required 2 minutes) in accordance with SOP. The First Officer continued flying the aircraft and communicating with ATC. The engine oil press got as low as 40 PSI prior to shutdown. I told the pilot in the jump seat to advise the flight attendants of the situation and to have them prepare the cabin accordingly. The weather in ZZZ was clear and the winds were 190/5. I elected to land on the longest runway (over 10;000 FT). The First Officer flew the approach and greased the landing. After landing I explained to the passengers that we had to shut an engine down due to an oil leak. The passengers gave the crew an ovation. Within 15 minutes after landing. Buses met the passengers on the apron and took them to the terminal. The company sent another aircraft to pick up the passengers in order to get them to their destination. The flight attendants; who did a great job during the entire process; continued with the passengers.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.