B757 captain experiences a left engine fuel filter EICAS message shortly after takeoff and after dec...

Narrative:

[We had a] normal engine start; taxi and takeoff. At approximately 500 ft; left engine fuel filter EICAS warning message appeared. Continued takeoff profile; selected VNAV at approximately 1;000 ft. Completed after takeoff check and referred to QRH to find appropriate checklist. First officer was pilot flying and used autopilot while I completed checklist and consulted with dispatch and maintenance. [We] asked for vectors to return to the airport. On leveling at 9;000 ft; EICAS warning message went away; but status message remained throughout flight. Maintenance concurred with return to field; and neither maintenance nor dispatch had any guidance/comment on overweight landing. [We] could not locate any info in [new] QRH regarding overweight landing. Gave the QRH to captain who was on jumpseat and he couldn't find anything either. [We] declared an emergency with approach; reference possibility of engine failure due fuel starvation. Briefed flight attendants for normal landing and made PA announcement for passengers. First officer flew ILS and landed normally; vref 140 KIAS and landing weight 220 K. [We] cleared runway with minimal braking. [It] would have been nice to locate something regarding overweight landing but unable to do so in time available.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B757 Captain experiences a Left Engine Fuel Filter EICAS message shortly after takeoff and after declaring an emergency; returns for an overweight landing. Overweight landing information could not be found in the new QRH.

Narrative: [We had a] normal engine start; taxi and takeoff. At approximately 500 FT; LEFT ENGINE FUEL FILTER EICAS warning message appeared. Continued takeoff profile; selected VNAV at approximately 1;000 FT. Completed after takeoff check and referred to QRH to find appropriate checklist. First Officer was pilot flying and used autopilot while I completed checklist and consulted with Dispatch and Maintenance. [We] asked for vectors to return to the airport. On leveling at 9;000 FT; EICAS warning message went away; but Status message remained throughout flight. Maintenance concurred with return to field; and neither Maintenance nor Dispatch had any guidance/comment on overweight landing. [We] could not locate any info in [new] QRH regarding overweight landing. Gave the QRH to Captain who was on jumpseat and he couldn't find anything either. [We] declared an emergency with Approach; reference possibility of engine failure due fuel starvation. Briefed flight attendants for normal landing and made PA announcement for passengers. First Officer flew ILS and landed normally; Vref 140 KIAS and landing weight 220 K. [We] cleared runway with minimal braking. [It] would have been nice to locate something regarding overweight landing but unable to do so in time available.

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.

Attributes
ACN	962751
Time
Date	201108
Local Time Of Day	0001-0600
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B757-200
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Takeoff
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 180 Flight Crew Total 18000 Flight Crew Type 4000
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

B757 captain experiences a left engine fuel filter EICAS message shortly after takeoff and after declaring an emergency; returns for an overweight landing. Overweight landing information could not be found in the new QRH.