FAA Bulletin: DEF in Jet Fuel

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Originally Posted by AZjeff
Why would DEF be anywhere near jet fuel on the flight line or where ever jets are fueled up?


I assume various vehicles like a tug or other related ground vehicles are diesel?
 
Originally Posted by Donald
Originally Posted by AZjeff
Why would DEF be anywhere near jet fuel on the flight line or where ever jets are fueled up?


I assume various vehicles like a tug or other related ground vehicles are diesel?


Yep.

Diesel trucks filled with jet fuel.

"The blue stuff goes in here" and someone in Opa Locka got confused between Diesel Exhaust Fluid tank and Jet Fuel Icing Inhibitor Tank...
 
Originally Posted by Astro14
Originally Posted by Donald
Originally Posted by AZjeff
Why would DEF be anywhere near jet fuel on the flight line or where ever jets are fueled up?


I assume various vehicles like a tug or other related ground vehicles are diesel?


Yep.

Diesel trucks filled with jet fuel.

"The blue stuff goes in here" and someone in Opa Locka got confused between Diesel Exhaust Fluid tank and Jet Fuel Icing Inhibitor Tank...


So either airport management didn't foresee the possibility of this happening and take appropriate preventative measures like education and signage or a bored/distracted/tired employee totally muffed it. Surely diesel fuel, jet fuel, DEF, and anti-icing juice isn't all available all at the same spot for the fuel truck driver convenience?

The FAA doc says : at this time the airworthiness concern is not considered an unsafe condition that warrants an airworthiness directive

but then goes on to say : Aircraft identified as having received the contaminated fuel have experienced clogged fuel filters and fuel
nozzle deposits that led to service difficulties and unplanned diversions.


If an unplanned diversion is landing someplace other than what it says on my ticket it sounds pretty unsafe to me.
 
Originally Posted by Colt45ws
Ford charges $5k for a new fuel system on their pickup. I dont even want to know what boeing or others would charge for a new fuel system.



It would be bad.

If the stuff made it's way to the engine and caused "fuel nozzle deposits that led to service difficulties and unplanned diversions" then you KNOW it went through the fuel control unit, also.

Expect it to be at least $100,000 to replace everything after the fuel filter.
 
Process control means lining up the layers of swiss cheese such that the holes never line up.

Process control failure here, and serious one too.
 
Originally Posted by Shannow
Process control means lining up the layers of swiss cheese such that the holes never line up.

Process control failure here, and serious one too.


Completely agreed. Complete process control failure...

One operator, in Opa Locka, got this wrong. The Swiss Cheese worked in thousands of other locations, but human stupidity has a way of penetrating every safety measure imaginable...
 
Maybe we should just equip the fuel trucks with sensors in the deicer tank to detect DEF and lock out injection from the deicer tank. Shutting down one truck and having its tank cleaned is far better than it getting into the aircraft.
 
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Originally Posted by Astro14
Originally Posted by Shannow
Process control means lining up the layers of swiss cheese such that the holes never line up.

Process control failure here, and serious one too.


Completely agreed. Complete process control failure...

One operator, in Opa Locka, got this wrong. The Swiss Cheese worked in thousands of other locations, but human stupidity has a way of penetrating every safety measure imaginable...


It could be as simple as not tasking the same guy with filling the DEF tank and filling the de-icing tank on the fuel trucks, ever. But you're correct, human beings have a natural talent for finding a way to cause a fail no matter how much fail-safe has been installed. I'm the "safety guy" here at our little company, when I see things being done that look sketchy to me I'm told we've never had an injury doing it that way...okay.


A14, Being in aviation will you ever know the root cause of the DEF fuel contamination?
 
Originally Posted by Colt45ws
Ford charges $5k for a new fuel system on their pickup. I dont even want to know what boeing or others would charge for a new fuel system.

Boeing and Airbus don't sell "parts" per se - that's mostly through the engine suppliers(GE/CFM, Pratt/IAE, Rolls-Royce). But given the complexity of an aircraft's fuel system and the effort needed to decontaminate the fuel system including the in-wing/fuselage tanks as well as the supply lines leading to the APU, it's not a cheap endeavor.
 
Originally Posted by AZjeff
Originally Posted by Astro14
Shannow said:
Process control means lining up the layers of swiss cheese such that the holes never line up.

Process control failure here, and serious one too.


Completely agreed. Complete process control failure...

One operator, in Opa Locka, got this wrong. The Swiss Cheese worked in thousands of other locations, but human stupidity has a way of penetrating every safety measure imaginable...


It could be as simple as not tasking the same guy with filling the DEF tank and filling the de-icing tank on the fuel trucks, ever. But you're correct, human beings have a natural talent for finding a way to cause a fail no matter how much fail-safe has been installed. I'm the "safety guy" here at our little company, when I see things being done that look sketchy to me I'm told we've never had an injury doing it that way...okay.


A14, Being in aviation will you ever know the root cause of the DEF fuel contamination?
 
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Mr. Murphy is alive and well and will jump up and bite your hind side given the slightest of opportunity. Drives safety managers crazy. To witt: Two employees work through dark night unloading unit coal train. Leave the last few cars for the day crew. Train is across main road to coal handling facility so men take the roundabout haul road back to check out and shower. Jump in a pickup and take off down main road for home. Partially wedge truck under coal car. Lots of lost time hours due to very avoidable accident.
 
I've got no particular insight into this one...

I doubt we will ever know exactly what happened, I suspect that person is no longer employed...
 
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