Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Type 721
Troubleshooting; Workload; Communication Breakdown; Distraction; Time Pressure
Airspace Violation All Types; Deviation - Track / Heading All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Inflight Event / Encounter Object
Air Traffic Control Provided Assistance; Flight Crew Took Evasive Action; Flight Crew Overcame Equipment Problem; Flight Crew Became Reoriented
Aircraft; Human Factors
Upon reaching the hold short line runway 9 Key West the captain noted that the selected airspeed readout showed amber dashes. I said that I thought it was because something was missing in the FMS. The captain said that we could just use manual speeds and flipped the speed selector switch to manual. I asked him if he wanted to take a minute and figure it out. He said it was fine (all paraphrased; I don't remember the exact words). At some point we received the takeoff clearance. We were assigned runway heading. I don't remember if I called or the tower gave it unsolicited. At this point I was still trying to process the amber dashes issue. The captain called for the Before Takeoff checklist; and we got 'takeoff okay.'On the roll I missed the 80 knot callout (that never happens). I was still distracted. Around 90-95 knots the captain asked; 80 knots? With the flaps 4 takeoff V1 was rapidly approaching and I made the V1 call. Rotate. I missed the 'positive rate' call. That also never happens. At 400 ft he called for heading and I selected HDG. We got handed off to Miami Center. I flipped the frequency; but did not call. I usually wait for flap retraction so I'm not on the radio while the captain is asking for flap retraction. At 1000 ft he asked for VNAV and I selected VNAV; but we didn't get it. The takeoff crossbar remained; and a message appeared on the FMS. Something like 'vertical mode not available' or 'vertical guidance unavailable.' We went through the flap retractions in the climb while the captain was manually selecting speeds. Also at some point the auto throttles were disconnected. I'm not sure if it was the captain or a result of the VNAV/amber dashes issue. My call to Miami was delayed because of the distraction of the VNAV issue and the extra steps in retracting flaps from 4 instead of 2. We ate up miles on runway heading. Miami gave us 'direct CURSO.' It took me three tries to set up the simple task of direct to CURSO. We had now continued further on runway heading. We selected the direct to and turned toward CURSO. Shortly after the turn; at between 4000 and 4500 we got GND PROX with an aural 'terrain terrain' and the Terrain Awareness Display showed a red circle just inside my 5 nm ring on the MFD. The magenta line went right through it. I immediately knew it was the tethered radar balloon. I told the captain it's the balloon. He said that it was okay; that we were climbing. I said NO; were not going to out climb that! I received no response; so I took the yoke; disconnected the autopilot and turned the airplane to the left. I think we stayed out of the restricted airspace; but I cannot confirm that.After clearing the balloon Miami gave us a 040 vector to CURSO. We resumed direct to CURSO. When I accessed the PERF DATA page to begin the process of getting the landing speeds there was no data. I believe it was at this time that the captain re-entered the zero fuel weight; and the PERF DATA page populated the data I was looking for. The captain stated that he believed the zero fuel weight was the source of the original problem with the airspeed readout and the vertical mode. I was able to get the landing speeds and we continued the flight without incident. It's imperative that we as FOs trust our instincts. While we have much less experience on the plane than the Captain; we are still fully qualified on the equipment. Slow down procedures. There was a very fast pace in the cockpit prior to closing the door. It was an atmosphere of everything needs to be happening fast. As we closed 11 minutes early; I even asked the question; 'Why is everyone in such a hurry? We're early.' I got no response. First red flag.
Air carrier First Officer reported they may have entered Restricted Airspace without clearance. A CRM breakdown contributed to the event.