Fuel Management
Fuel starvation or contamination is the leading cause to three accidents per week in the United States. What are pilots doing wrong and how can we better prepare to never be in this position.
We will divide fuel management into two sections, pilot induced and external factors. While the majority of these accidents are all avoidable by the Pilot in Command (PIC). There are some cases where external factors may affect the safety of flight.
Pilot Induced
The PIC is always the ultimate authority, and with such high authority comes plenty of responsibility. Proper fuel management is one of those responsibilities. We will list some hazards and what we can do as pilots to mitigate the risk:
Planning a flight with extra fuel reserves. — You would never see me flying around a 152 with 3 gallons of fuel prior to landing. While totally legal can you imagine only having 1.5 gallons of fuel slushing around the fuel tank. Always carry extra gas, you never know when you will need it. When it comes to cargo or gas, the cargo is staying behind.
Conducting a thorough preflight. — Always check your fuel for contamination. Fuel contamination can be so easily detected and avoided in the aircraft we fly that there is no reason why this should be leading cause. Check out our Two Minute Tuesday video on fuel contamination here.
Clear communication with Air Traffic Control (ATC). — Communicate with ATC when fuel is an issue. “Minimum Fuel” indicates recognition by a pilot that the fuel supply has reached a state where, upon reaching destination, the pilot cannot accept any undue delay. On the other hand “Fuel Emergency” is the point at which, in the judgment of the pilot-in-command, it is necessary to proceed directly to the airport of intended landing due to low fuel. Declaration of a fuel emergency is an explicit statement that priority handling by ATC is both required and expected. Be clear and use the appropriate phraseology, ATC is triggered to listen for those words and handle the aircraft accordingly.
External Factors
Even those who follow proper procedures, can encounter situations outside of our controls. We will now list external factors that can be sometimes uncontrollable by the PIC.
Installation of Incorrect Parts — A very good pilot I flew with, lost half of his family as he was forced to ditch his Beechcraft Baron 55 in the Pacific Ocean due to fuel starvation. The fuel gauges were installed incorrectly not allowing a full range of travel. Before departure the pilot read the gauges and determined he had 100 gallons when in fact he only had around 49 gallons.
Equipment Calibration — Fuel gauges need to be calibrated and are rarely accurate. Never trust the fuel gauge. Verify the amount of fuel by visual inspection whenever possible. Always use your calculated time and estimated fuel consumption and if any indications shows that you have less than expected, land and verify!
Equipment Failure — There has been cases where fuel tanks or hardware malfunction and fuel is leaked out of the tanks. Keeping a scan of the aircraft in flight is good practice, although there are some aircrafts the will block the pilots view, that would allow such detection.
