Dreampilot
Well-Known Member
http://consumerist.com/5035170/whin...forcing-them-to-fly-uncomfortably-low-on-fuel
Just wanted to know if this is really true?
Just wanted to know if this is really true?
Low of Fuel
- Thread starter Dreampilot
- Start date
PGT
Well-Known Member
Well first thing is that the captain has final authority and if he thinks the plane doesn't have enough fuel then he doesn't have to go.
What they are talking about is extra fuel captains usually put on board, "uh oh" fuel. This is on top of the total amount required for the flight (with alternative plus reserves).
What they are talking about is extra fuel captains usually put on board, "uh oh" fuel. This is on top of the total amount required for the flight (with alternative plus reserves).
Orange Anchor
New Member
First off, consider the source and the tone of the article.
Second, the airlines are trying to reduce the weight of the airplane including taking off magazines, food, drinks and potable water. And carrying extra fuel translates to higher costs for each flight. But as PGT notes there is first the FARs and second the PIC is the final authority for the conduct of the flight and that includes how much fuel the airplane leaves the gate with.
When I started, Capt's would take 'load allowable' which mean carry the max fuel they could put on the airplane. This meant you were always fat on fuel. Those days are LONG gone.
Finally, the writer apparently knows very little about the Avianca crash. There were language problems and the crew never declared minimum fuel and never declared 'emergency fuel'. Yes, they told the controllers they had a fuel problem but that did not translate and the controller never gave them priority handling. The jet ran out of fuel. It was not the first. United ran out of fuel in Portland and crashed. The Capt was working on a landing gear problem and ignored the F/O and F/E who kept telling him they were low on fuel. The United accident was the precipitant to the establishing Crew Resource Management.
Yank&BankmyRJ145
New Member
I love when dispatch gives you 5 lbs of hold fuel= 1 min, then puts no dispatch add. I feel so save when all of this happens again with no alt. I will try to get direct from the get go. The past three months I have landed more times with low fuel than in the past. While, by the book we have the require amount, its the fuel gauges when they turn amber that makes me uncomfortable!!
PS: the go around burns about 1/4 of your reserves in my aircraft. Better know what your next plan of action is!!!!
PS: the go around burns about 1/4 of your reserves in my aircraft. Better know what your next plan of action is!!!!
Boris Badenov
It's a work in progress, but, ah, symbols endure
Penny wise, pound foolish. When I have a choice, I always take off at MGTOW because there's fuel dripping out of every crack. Having some harried desk jockey bitching at me for extra go-juice is NOT the 121 experience I'm looking forward to. I'm fortunate enough to have a boss who doesn't question my decisions vis a vis airworthiness, fuel load, alternates, etc. What's funny is that on more than one occasion this "lack of oversight" has resulted in the work arriving where it's supposed to be as rapidly as possible when if I'd been micromanaged and second guessed, it would have wound up in Uhoh Township, Rural Iowa. To paraphrase The Right Stuff "let dispatch file the flight plan and let the pilots fly the airplanes".