Module 3.2 Aircraft Systems and Flight: Fuel Management

Module 3.2 Aircraft Systems and Flight: Fuel Management

Why would an aircraft ever need to make an emergency landing or even crash due to fuel starvation? When flying an aircraft, as demonstrated in the presentations about fuel systems, most aircraft have 2 or more fuel tanks. This means the fuel selector typically has at least 3 positions. The fuel tanks are usually located in the wings, and you can usually select left wing, right wing, both or off.  Normally, while in flight the pilot will keep the fuel selector set to both tanks. However, there is occasionally a need to or a type of aircraft that will require you to select an individual tank, and/or have you switch back and forth between tanks during the flight. This could be for weight distribution.    

According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) website. (”NTSB Safety Alert Addresses Poor Fuel Management". 8/29/2017) between 2011 and 2015 the 6^th leading cause of general aviation accidents was fuel management. This includes fuel starvation and fuel exhaustion. There were more than 50 instances in each of those years. 35% of those accidents were due to fuel starvation. The difference between fuel starvation and fuel exhaustion is that with fuel starvation, you still have fuel on board the aircraft, however, something is preventing the fuel from getting to the engine. With fuel exhaustion, there is no fuel left in the tanks. Fuel exhaustion accounted for 56% of those accidents.

With everything we know today and with the pilot checklists, continuous maintenance inspections as well as additional training, it is hard to believe that an aircraft can still have a fuel management issue in the air. Nevertheless in November 2016, it happened to LaMia Flight 2933, killing 71 people from a Brazilian soccer team. (“Colombian plane crash: Jet without fuel, crew member said”. 12/01/2016) according to the article air traffic controllers were told by a crew member on the flight that “The plane is in total electric failure and without fuel”. This made sense to investigators on the ground, who said they would have expected an explosion or a fire, had there been fuel on the aircraft.

I believe the only way to prevent this from happening again, is continuous training. We just have to keep the conversation going.

Reference:

(8/29/2017) NTSB Safety Alert Addresses Poor Fuel Management. Retrieved from https://www.ntsb.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/pr20170829.aspx

Ostrower, Jon (12/01/2016) Columbian plane crash: Jet without fuel, crew member said. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2016/11/30/americas/colombia-plane-crash-investigation-fuel/