B737-800
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine
Training / Qualification; Workload
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Inflight Event / Encounter Fuel Issue
General None Reported / Taken
Aircraft; Human Factors; MEL; Procedure
During preflight preparations at JFK; my company iPad was unable to connect to any information (this has been a randomly recurring problem experienced by many pilots over the past weeks). Therefore I was unable to view the flight plan or the deferred Maintenance items. I was unable to access the logbook or the flight deck until approximately 30 minutes prior to departure; because Maintenance Technicians were in the flight deck changing the ACARS printer. I spent many valuable minutes on the phone with [Company] IT support; which was of no help. While waiting for access to the flight deck; the fueler came up to the galley and gave me the fuel slip and told me about an inoperative fuel quantity indication. I then called JFK Maintenance and only then was I informed that the right main tank fuel quantity indication was blank and was already deferred. When I finally had access to the flight deck and the Airplane Maintenance Log; I noted that the inoperative fuel indicator had been deferred. During my cockpit setup and preflight preparations; I was finally able to review the MEL; and discovered that the aircraft is not to be flown more than 50 NM from land. Our Dispatched route of flight from JFK to ZZZ took us over water from near ZZZ; as much as 150 NM from land. I immediately called Dispatch; who then began working on a new flight plan and release. The Dispatcher had some difficulties getting the new flight plan filed; resulting in further delay to our departure. Prior to pushback; we finally had a legal flight plan release for an over-land routing. With the inoperative right main tank fuel quantity inoperative; the total fuel quantity was also blank; and had to be mentally calculated by the pilots throughout the flight. This is an increased workload; and subject to possible errors. The guessed fuel quantity has to be manually inserted on the PERF INIT page in order to have correct FMS calculations for maximum altitude; final approach speeds; minimum safe maneuver speeds; and perhaps other FMS calculations that the flight crews are not made aware of. The MEL guidance does not clearly specify these issues; and we pilots have not been trained to operate in this degraded mode. We were put in this position by the management decision to fly this airplane for a week with this inoperative fuel quantity indicating system. This presents so many opportunities for errors with critical flight safety implications. Inoperative fuel quantity indications should only be deferred to operate to the next [Company] Maintenance base; not to continue operating many flights all over the country with inadequate guidance and training. Dispatchers must carefully review all MEL restrictions and requirements for every deferred item for every flight.
B737-800 Captain reported operating with deferred fuel quantity indication system resulted in increased workload.