EMB ERJ 170/175 ER/LR
Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Multiengine
Communication Breakdown; Fatigue; Distraction
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Flight Crew Returned To Gate
Human Factors
We arrived XA:40 EST in ZZZ; 15 min earlier from the scheduled arrival time. This fact gave us 55 min to get ready for our next; the third and last leg for the day going to ZZZ1. I did the postflight check; and as soon as I got back in the flight deck Captain stated; that he is very hungry; and ask me if I felt the same way. I was fine; and he requested if I could take care of the MCDU while he gets something to eat. He spent a couple extra minutes reviewing the flight release; and verifying the PDC. He even tried to do the Release brief; but we didn't have the planned fuel on board yet; so he ran to the gate for food. It was XB:12 EST. I got busy loading the 'box'; while the passengers were boarding the airplane. Captain came back XB:22 EST. He checked the 'box'; briefed the departure; briefed the passengers; talked to the gate agent; who was making some comments; standing by the cockpit door; and of course Flight Attendants were chatting as well. All this distracted us both from the fact that we didn't complete the release brief; and brought the feeling like we are running late; and it's time to close the doors. And we did so. We closed the door. Captain established communication with the ground crew; dropped the brake; requested push clearance; and received one. The ground crew started the pushing; and we ran the before start check list. We were pushed approximately 12 feet from the gate; when we both noticed that we did not get refueled. I canceled right away the push clearance with ramp control; while the Captain was talking to the ground crew. We got pulled back to the gate; opened the door; got fuel; and the rest of the flight went uneventful. There were many factors that contributed to this mistake:1. It was the last leg for the day plus the early sunset - it was already dark outside. These two factors brought the feeling like it's really late; and activated the 'get there itis' mode. Without realizing; and particular reason we started to rush. Lesson I learned: Rushing is not good!2. Complacency - in ZZZ operations and ground crew on a Company side are pretty efficient; and not getting refueled 'doesn't happen'. Well apparently it happens. Lesson I learned: Trust but verify!3. Distractions - trying to be on time while juggling with hunger; FA (Flight Attendants); gate agent; Briefings; and ground crew eventually will lead to 'dropping the ball'. Lesson I learned: One thing at the time; and check lists as per SOP is the key to stay away from trouble.
Needed to go get lunch in between flight; I got everything set up for next flight while the passengers were deplaning. Along with the release brief. Even though we hadn't been fueled yet. Briefing weather and route etc. Got lunch and proceeded to eat it while finishing up last minute tasks. There is always the pressure to get out on time; which we did; unfortunately we never ran the before start checklist and never caught the fact we didn't have the proper amount of flight planned fuel. Since the trigger to do the checklist never occurred. FO (First Officer) noticed it on the push and we immediately got towed back in and were fueled up ASAP. We also had a weight and balance issue and needed to move 6 people from C to A adding to the level of complexity. I made an announcement that we needed more fuel which we received and were on our way uneventfully.
EMB-170 flight crew became distracted during pre-flight checks and forgot to request refueling.