Date: 201504
Local time of day: 0601-1200
Location: EGTT.ARTCC, FO
Flight conditions: VMC
Aircraft: B777 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operator: Air Carrier
Operating under: Part 121
Flight plan: IFR
Mission: Passenger
Flight phase: Cruise
ATC / advisory: Center EGTT
Aircraft component: FMS/FMC
Component problem: Malfunctioning
Reporter organization: Air Carrier
Reporter function: First Officer; Relief Pilot
Human factors: Confusion; Human-Machine Interface
Second reporter function: First Officer; Pilot Not Flying
Anomaly: Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation - Track / Heading All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance
Detector: Person Flight Crew; Person Air Traffic Control
When detected: In-flight
Result: Air Traffic Control Issued Advisory / Alert; Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance; Flight Crew Became Reoriented; Flight Crew Returned To Clearance
Contributing factors: Aircraft; Human Factors
Primary problem: Aircraft

Narrative: After entering holding at BNN; ATC queried our heading and gave vectors to reenter the holding pattern.  During the turn we confirmed the CDU holding inputs were correct.  We then noticed the holding pattern on the Navigation Display (ND) was drawn to the opposite quadrant.  While being vectored; all pilots saw the depicted track on the ND redraw itself to the proper direction.Apparently the holding inputs were initially entered erroneously; long before BNN; then corrected shortly before reaching BNN.  The flight director followed the holding pattern displayed on the ND after passing BNN.  The flight director updated to the correct data that was on the CDU maybe 90 seconds after passing BNN. CDU changes close to fixes must be scrutinized.  There seems to be some flight computer-to display lag that needs to be accounted for.


Second narrative: We were assigned holding at BNN. Captain asked Pilot Monitoring (PM) to enter hold in the FMS and specified the course. Approaching the fix and long before crossing BNN; we realized the holding entry should have been the radial and not the course. It was changed and verified correct by all three pilots. LNAV was engaged. The aircraft entered holding as depicted on the FMS. ATC queried us about our holding entry and gave us a heading. About 90 seconds after the aircraft crossed BNN; the NAV display holding pattern flipped from the southeast quadrant to the northwest quadrant. At the time we were discussing the depicted holding pattern and what was entered in the FMS so all three pilots and the jumpseater; a B777 pilot all observed the shift. We were vectored into the holding pattern as it had shifted to.There is a problem with the software that needs to be identified. Late holding pattern entry can cause the FMS to [incorrectly display] the holding pattern even with all parameters entered correctly in the FMS. While I have never seen this in 15 years on the 777; the captain indicated he has seen it once before.


Synopsis: A B777 flight crew reports entering the holding course instead of the holding Radial as cleared by ATC; for a holding pattern at BNN. The Captain detects the error prior to BNN and corrects it but the FMC does not initially update and the pattern is entered in the wrong quadrant. As ATC issues vectors; the pattern on the map display flips to the correct quadrant.