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A B777 developed an apparent fuel imbalance in flight but since troubleshooting did not reveal a problem; the crew returned to the departure airport where enroute they found the fuel crossfeed valves unexpectedly open.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 983453 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201112 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0001-0600 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZZ.ARTCC |
| State Reference | FO |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Night |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | B777-200 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Fuel Crossfeed |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Not Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 100 Flight Crew Total 23000 Flight Crew Type 7500 |
| Person 2 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying First Officer |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 250 Flight Crew Total 17000 Flight Crew Type 5000 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Inflight Event / Encounter Fuel Issue |
Narrative:
About 2 hours into the flight we noticed a fuel imbalance; unable to figure why. We tried to work on it. We phone-patched dispatch and maintenance to help solve the problem. I asked maintenance if the aircraft had a history of imbalance. I couldn't find anything in the log history. I asked the question; because I had flown an aircraft before; with that problem. We said that it wasn't. After much discussion; we all decided to return to the departure airport as the best option. On returning it was noticed that the crossfeed was open. None of us had touched them. There had been maintenance work going in the cockpit before start for another problem. A number of switches were being activated during the fix. During the before checklist; the fuel panel check was overrode. The aircraft turns off a center pump for load shedding and we all saw that and thought that was the problem. Never seeing the cross feeds open; we closed the crossfeed and the imbalance stopped. It was too late in the flight to turn back and head to our filed destination.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A B777 developed an apparent fuel imbalance in flight but since troubleshooting did not reveal a problem; the crew returned to the departure airport where enroute they found the fuel crossfeed valves unexpectedly open.
Narrative: About 2 hours into the flight we noticed a fuel imbalance; unable to figure why. We tried to work on it. We phone-patched Dispatch and Maintenance to help solve the problem. I asked Maintenance if the aircraft had a history of imbalance. I couldn't find anything in the log history. I asked the question; because I had flown an aircraft before; with that problem. We said that it wasn't. After much discussion; we all decided to return to the departure airport as the best option. On returning it was noticed that the crossfeed was open. None of us had touched them. There had been maintenance work going in the cockpit before start for another problem. A number of switches were being activated during the fix. During the before checklist; the fuel panel check was overrode. The aircraft turns off a center pump for load shedding and we all saw that and thought that was the problem. Never seeing the cross feeds open; we closed the crossfeed and the imbalance stopped. It was too late in the flight to turn back and head to our filed destination.
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.