DC-10 30
Confusion; Distraction; Workload
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural MEL / CDL
Flight Crew Inflight Shutdown; Flight Crew Landed As Precaution; Flight Crew FLC complied w / Automation / Advisory; Flight Crew Returned To Departure Airport; General Declared Emergency
Procedure; Human Factors; Chart Or Publication
Due to confusion on which MEL was actually on the FR/R (fuel controller or fuel gauge); I was behind and out of my normal habit pattern. When the time came in the Engine Start checklist for me to turn the fuel pumps on; I did not push with enough pressure; nor verify that the Number 2 pump came on. This caused Number 2 Engine to roll back to idle during climb out. We then followed QRH procedures and returned to the departure airport.Always verify that a pushed button/switch has actually been activated. Slow down to ensure all procedures are accomplished......especially when behind or distracted.
Aircraft was originally MEL'ed as a fuel controller problem. After printing the release; and the MEL; we became distracted when the listed MEL on the flight release FPR did not match the MEL I printed. I later determined that the MEL had been changed to a fuel indicator problem; which still showed on the release; but I had printed the MEL as a reference at the exact time that Maintenance personnel changed the MEL in the computer system. The confusion in sorting this out threw us off our game. During engine start; the First Officer failed to 'push with intent' and we both failed to verify that the Number 2 fuel pump turned on; as it should have been with the fuel system in manual. Further distraction arose when the aircraft failed to allow us to select PROF after takeoff. It remained inoperative for the duration of the flight. The Number 2 engine rolled back to idle at FL190 and the fuel flow dropped to approximately 2;500 lbs. Because we thought the number 2 fuel pump was ON; we didn't know the cause of the malfunction so we complied with the QRH for ENG 2 LO RPM; shut down the engine; and returned to the departure airport. It was here that we realized what happened.We allowed some minor distractions to cause us to lose sight of the big picture. In the future we need to slow down and verify every aspect of flight operations no matter what arises as a distraction; and especially don't assign a higher than deserved priority to minor hiccups. Better compartmentalization and prioritization on my part could have prevented this incident.
A DC-10 First Officer failed to verify the Number 2 Fuel Pump ON before start which caused on engine rolled back to idle climbing through FL190. Not knowing the cause; the Captain shut the engine down; declared an emergency and returned to the departure airport.