september2022 - 28

Ground Service Providers
Common Fueling Mistakes
and How to Avoid Them
Utilizing the tools and resources available, including clear communication,
can prevent misfueling accidents from occurring.
BY REBECCA KANABLE
W
hat type of fuel does an
aircraft use?
The answer should be
straightforward.
However, in 2009, a Cessna 421C
incorrectly fueled with 80 gallons of Jet
A fuel instead of 100LL avgas led to a loss
of engine power. Unable to return to a
runway, the pilot landed the plane in an
open field. The airplane was substantially
damaged, and the pilot and two passengers
sustained minor injuries.
The National Transportation Safety
Board (NTSB) determined the probable
cause of the accident to be " the failure
of line personnel to ensure that the airplane
was serviced with the proper fuel. "
Contributing to the accident was the
Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's)
approval of a Supplemental Type Certificate,
which allowed an improper fuel
filler opening, and the complacency in
non-standard fueling practices by fixedbase
operator (FBO) line personnel.
As one of about 50 regional air safety
investigators with the NTSB, Joshua
Lindberg's job is to investigate incidents
like these.
" One of the things we always look at
and try to track down is the type of fuel
being used to make sure that it was the
proper fuel, " Lindberg says.
The reasons that fuel is misidentified
or misfueling occurs are different in most
every case, he explains, but when the
wrong fuel is used, that's almost always a
factor in the accident.
" We have a lot of roles and wear a lot
of different hats, " he says, " but generally
we document accident sites, gather all
the perishable evidence that's available,
interview witnesses and take a lot of
photos and then write the final accident
report. "
While investigators do many things,
Lindberg says the main goal is accident
prevention.
Because several fueling-related mistakes
came to their attention, in part,
because of accident investigations, NTSB
issued two misfueling safety alerts - Line
Personnel: Fueling Matters (SA-051) and
Pilots: Fueling Mistakes (SA-050). NTSB
also issued a safety alert (SA-079) about
diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) and how it was
being mislabeled or not labeled at all at
airports. As a result, it was inadvertently
added to airplanes.
According to Lindberg, misfueling
mistakes investigators are seeing
today include:
28 || Ground Support Worldwide || September 2022
* Fuel trucks being outfitted with the
wrong fuel nozzles
* Fuel nozzles being swapped between
trucks
* Airplanes not being placarded correctly
or not having placards at all
* Airplanes misidentified by line service
personnel
* Airplanes outfitted with supplemental
type certificates (STCs), which
allow them to change the type of
engine that is on the airplane, which,
in turn, could change the type of fuel
required
The fuel filler openings of the Cessna
421C were modified in accordance with
airworthiness directive 87-21-02 R1 to
prevent the " flattened " Jet A fuel nozzles
from entering the fuel filler ports.
The placard near the right main fuel
tank filler cap was worn and unreadable.
The final NTSB report for the Cessna
421C accident (CEN09LA145) notes: " Two
medium single-engine general aviation
airplanes based at the FBO had been
modified with turbo-prop engines requiring
Jet A fuel. The two modified airplanes
were not required by Supplement Type
Certificate to modify the fuel filler opening,
allowing the airplane to operate with
smaller fuel filler openings, which did not
september2022

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