A B737-700 captain reported being dispatched with multiple mels over a four leg assignment. He misse...

Narrative:

Second leg of four-leg day in same aircraft: aircraft had three MEL/cdls; complicating preflight planning. First; lavatories inoperative required managing passengers to not use lavatories onboard; therefore; using restrooms off the aircraft. Second; tankering fuel restrictions with inoperative thrust reverser; opc adjustments re: same. No problem on the first; third; and fourth flights. I missed the fact the dispatcher tankered fuel on the second flight. Flight departed with error [untrapped]. It was noticed by the first officer just after takeoff when the #1 fuel gauge showed an almost instant 1;200 fuel imbalance. He looked at the release to check dispatched planned fuel load; and that is when he noticed the tankered fuel. Captain noted and checked for no tanker fuel on first flight; but missed it during release review during preflight planning and preparation. Flight continued and landed uneventfully as scheduled. Under a multiple MEL/cdl release; the threat is exponentially increased. Computer guys/it might explore a 'lockout' feature on some MEL/cdl's. I.e. If thrust reverser inoperative is a factor in preflight planning; tankering fuel option is blanked out.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B737-700 Captain reported being dispatched with multiple MELs over a four leg assignment. He missed a note on tankering fuel on leg 2 and failed to comply with the MEL.

Narrative: Second leg of four-leg day in same aircraft: Aircraft had three MEL/CDLs; complicating preflight planning. First; lavatories inoperative required managing passengers to not use lavatories onboard; therefore; using restrooms off the aircraft. Second; tankering fuel restrictions with inoperative thrust reverser; OPC adjustments re: same. No problem on the first; third; and fourth flights. I missed the fact the Dispatcher tankered fuel on the second flight. Flight departed with error [untrapped]. It was noticed by the First Officer just after takeoff when the #1 fuel gauge showed an almost instant 1;200 fuel imbalance. He looked at the release to check dispatched planned fuel load; and that is when he noticed the tankered fuel. Captain noted and checked for no tanker fuel on first flight; but missed it during release review during preflight planning and preparation. Flight continued and landed uneventfully as scheduled. Under a multiple MEL/CDL Release; the threat is exponentially increased. Computer guys/IT might explore a 'lockout' feature on some MEL/CDL's. i.e. if thrust reverser inoperative is a factor in preflight planning; tankering fuel option is blanked out.

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	982763
Time
Date	201112
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B737-700
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Parked
Person 1
Function	Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 114 Flight Crew Type 10400
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Procedural Weight And Balance

A B737-700 captain reported being dispatched with multiple mels over a four leg assignment. He missed a note on tankering fuel on leg 2 and failed to comply with the MEL.