Changes To Flight Manuals Would Have Stressed Safety
For
over 10 years, the Federal Aviation Administration has failed to
act on a recommendation to mandate changes to flight manuals that
would, in theory, better prepare pilots to deal with fuel
emergencies.
That comes from the Miami Herald, which also notes one in 10
nonfatal accidents since 2000 have involved some kind of fuel
failure.
The National Transportation Safety Board recommended the flight
manual changes following the 1990 loss of an Avianca Airlines 707
in Long Island, NY. Out of 158 persons onboard, 73 were killed when
the plane's tanks ran dry.
The NTSB submitted its recommendation -- that flight manuals
include mention of safe fuel practices, as well as when to declare
an emergency -- to the FAA, the Herald reports. The FAA denied the
request.
The agency says its guidelines on flying with ample fuel onboard
are sufficient... and also common sense.
"We feel that the procedures that are in place... if they follow
that they will never have a problem," said the FAA's Flight
Standards Service Director Jim Ballough.
There is also evidence pilots may be
pressured to overlook fueling requirements.
In 2003, two pilots were seriously injured when a Grand Aire
Express Falcon 200 ditched in the Mississippi River, after it ran
out of fuel holding for weather to clear at Lambert Field in St.
Louis, MO.
In its Probable Cause report on that accident, the NTSB noted
the pilots failed to divert to an alternate airport, or tell ATC
they were running low on fuel.
The pilots told the safety board they were following SOP,
however, as Grand Aire allegedly pushed pilots to fly on low levels
of fuel.
The pilots also said company policy was to not buy fuel from
noncontract vendors... and if a plane returned with above the
minimum amount of fuel onboard, "They would get a call... reminding
them they returned with too much fuel," pilot Saleem Iqbal told the
NTSB.
"[L]ow fuel did not necessarily constitute declaring an
emergency," added Iqbal, who recently field a lawsuit against Grand
Aire claiming "debilitating injury" from the 2003 crash.
Even though you may not find the information in your plane's
flight manual, it's important to remember: carry enough fuel to
reach your destination (that should be a given) as well as
sufficient reserves to get you to an alternate airport if
necessary. Because when you need to do that... there are often
precious few other options.