Crash in Las Cruces, NM kills 4

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IF done right you can fuel a helo with the Flared jet A nozzle (TOP) just fine. The smaller round (BOTTOM) nozzle for helos just makes it easier.
 
Patrick said:
Confirmed this morning that it was mis-fueled. Allegedly, the truck was not well marked, and had helicopter adapters on the fuel nozzle, and so the fueler "thought" that he was dispensing 100LL.

Now, obviously, it'll be a while before all the facts to come out, but I, personally, can't understand how you could "think" that you were dispensing Low Lead while you were pumping kerosene.
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THIS is why I ALWAYS check my fuel.
 
Definitely food for thought here. I usually fuel my plane, but sometimes am at a base where a vendor fuels for me. And when they do, they always hand me a fuel slip which shows both the fuel type and quantity. I always double check the amount pumped, but never the fuel type. That's going to change.
 
We've got a Jet truck that has both the duck bill (oval) and the round nozzle. We do a lot of fueling for Customs, ANG, and a local HEMS company. The round nozzle is much better. It's definitely bigger than an avgas nozzle, but it would probably still fit an avgas tank. I'd rather not find out.
 
Maybe a warning, or reminder on the handle of the nozzle would be helpful? On the back side of the plastic handle where it's in plain view. Obviously this doesn't happen a lot, but it does happen.
 
Plata said:
Definitely food for thought here. I usually fuel my plane, but sometimes am at a base where a vendor fuels for me. And when they do, they always hand me a fuel slip which shows both the fuel type and quantity. I always double check the amount pumped, but never the fuel type. That's going to change.
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Unfortunately it would not have helped here since the pilot did sign a 100LL slip.
 
Forgive me if I have already said this but I always try and observe fueling going on at my airplane. I used to pump gas so I try and be friendly with the line crew and treat them like humans. I also check the fuel truck for the following: 2 legal fire extinguishers charged within limits, the truck filter is less than one year since service, the truck has a shut off and I note its location (I don't see if it works because that would be a bit over the top) I also just kinda poke around the truck to see its general condition.

In addition I open the fuel panel on the Falcon, make sure the panel is set up correctly and open all of service doors for the line crew. Most fuelers are very considerate professionals considering their pay and working conditions. I have a lot of respect for them but intimately it is the PIC's responsibility to make sure everything goes well with any operation going around your airplane.

Hindsight is 20/20, there by the grace of god go I, RIP, etc, etc, etc.
 
Heard about a similar miss-fueling incident. The fueler found the nozzle didn't fit, so removed it and switched to the 100LL nozzle, thinking that he was doing good work. Fortunately the astute girl working behind the desk knew what a 421 was.
 
mshunter said:
Except he skipped one critical step that would have prevented this. Sumping the tanks.
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I can't speak to other part 135 companies, but at mind (also a EMS operator) you're only required to sump the tanks once per shift (2x a day, 1 AM 1PM) because we have fuel quality letters that indicate that the fuel at these FBOs meet or exceed our fuel quality standards.
 
mshunter said:
Except he skipped one critical step that would have prevented this. Sumping the tanks.
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There's also that part where he only took 20 gallons a side. He had quite a bit of fuel and was just looking for a little bit of security. Jet won't immediately settle to the bottom for quite a few minutes and in that time the patient had already arrived. Yes, ultimately the blame rests on the PIC by not supervising the entire fueling process and I'm sure we can come up with another 20 reasons what the pilot should have done to check his fuel. But in the time allotted in the hurried pace of air ambulance, you don't always have time to sump or to wait for the fuel to settle or double check what the line guy is putting in your airplane.
 
kiloalpha said:
There's also that part where he only took 20 gallons a side. He had quite a bit of fuel and was just looking for a little bit of security. Jet won't immediately settle to the bottom for quite a few minutes and in that time the patient had already arrived. Yes, ultimately the blame rests on the PIC by not supervising the entire fueling process and I'm sure we can come up with another 20 reasons what the pilot should have done to check his fuel. But in the time allotted in the hurried pace of air ambulance, you don't always have time to sump or to wait for the fuel to settle or double check what the line guy is putting in your airplane.
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As for the time comment, I know. I flew a Lear that was doing "Life Guard" work. Being rushed however, as you put it, is no excuse. There is always time for sumping while still on the ground. Look what rushing here caused.
 
SpiraMirabilis said:
I can't speak to other part 135 companies, but at mind (also a EMS operator) you're only required to sump the tanks once per shift (2x a day, 1 AM 1PM) because we have fuel quality letters that indicate that the fuel at these FBOs meet or exceed our fuel quality standards.
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It may guarantee the quality of the fuel, but that letter would have been useless here. Always double check someone else's work with stuff like this. How many times have we all hard of a line guy doing something as simple as forgetting a fuel cap?
 
mshunter said:
It may guarantee the quality of the fuel, but that letter would have been useless here. Always double check someone else's work with stuff like this. How many times have we all hard of a line guy doing something as simple as forgetting a fuel cap?
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Yep. At my 121 carrier we supervise the fueling for this reason. In almost four years here, I've had them leave the fuel cap off at least three times, and usually once a month or so the fuel panel is not turned off correctly (or at all).
 
This is why I always stay with the aircraft until the fueler has at least started fueling. It will take a few minutes out of your time and will prevent incompetent fuelers from trying to kill you.
 
kiloalpha said:
There's also that part where he only took 20 gallons a side. He had quite a bit of fuel and was just looking for a little bit of security. Jet won't immediately settle to the bottom for quite a few minutes and in that time the patient had already arrived. Yes, ultimately the blame rests on the PIC by not supervising the entire fueling process and I'm sure we can come up with another 20 reasons what the pilot should have done to check his fuel. But in the time allotted in the hurried pace of air ambulance, you don't always have time to sump or to wait for the fuel to settle or double check what the line guy is putting in your airplane.
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This. 20 gallons of kerosene mixed into ~100 gallons of 100LL is not going to just settle to the bottom in the 4 min between fueling and firing back up. We all agree that ultimately this is the PIC's problem and liability, however, for better or worse, real life extenuating circumstances do come into play.
 
Patrick said:
This. 20 gallons of kerosene mixed into ~100 gallons of 100LL is not going to just settle to the bottom in the 4 min between fueling and firing back up. We all agree that ultimately this is the PIC's problem and liability, however, for better or worse, real life extenuating circumstances do come into play.
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And that's where I can't fully fault the PIC only, because there comes a point where he has a reasonable expectation that others have done their professional jobs correctly. If an A&P works on some internal component of my aircraft, can I reasonably QA his work? Or do I have to take the assumption that it was done correctly, apart from a basic ops check? How do I know the part was safety wired correctly, or won't fail right after takeoff? To me, because he signed a receipt that was for 100LL and the fact that fuel does not settle immediately, while still ultimately the PICs responsibility overall, was not his fault that it was misfueled. It just wasn't caught, unfortunately.
 
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