Merged: Emerald fuel exhaustion

[startingout]

I heard about this one a couple of days ago and it looks like the ATSB has placed something up on the website. Does anyone know what happened with this incident? From what I heard the pilot glided in to YEML from FL150, great skills on that part just not the fuel issue.

Investigation: AO-2011-002 - Fuel Exhaustion - Cessna 404, VH-LAD, Emerald Qld, 31 Dec 2010 (http://atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2011/aair/ao2011002.aspx)

[Jabawocky]

Just so happens I do............:ooh:

Not a lot though, but suffice to say there was a "double engine failure" at a reasonable height.

A Virgin Blue Jet followed its progress, not sure how much of a diversion but I understand it "chased it down" so to speak and kept an eye on it as the contact with BNE CEN fails at around 3000-3500 feet. I have since found this out trying to communicate with ATC on a recent trip with some essentials for my friends in a small CQ town........;) (YRLL :oh:)

That might give you a clue!

The one lucky thing was he was at least visual enough to find the strip as it has no instrument approaches and from memory its not even in the Jepp database, I think Chimbu Chuck and Forkie will confirm this as we had to load it into the 34 various GPS's we had between us going there at the end of 2008.

I would love to hear the story on this one too......

[rioncentu]

Wow they kept that quiet (media)

Aircraft only has to cough or splutter for it to make the news now.

Mind you they were gearing up for their biggest flood ever at the time so may have paled into insignificance.



Like the balloon "crash" on TV the other night. Hardly a :mad: crash

[ravan]

Bit of a difference between "starvation" & "exhaustion".:hmm:

[pistinaround]

Ya reckon ? Sound like pretty much the same thing to me especially when both engines stop as a result!

(although I do conceed I did say starvation when the report states exhaustion.)

[PyroTek]

Starvation could be caused by a blocked fuel vent/blocked fuel line etc., exhaustion is a case of too much air in the tanks.
That's how I see it anyway. :ok:

[rioncentu]

Pyro is spot on with the definitions

[TBM-Legend]

no confusion in the ATSB report>>>

During descent, both engines failed due to fuel exhaustion. The investigation is continuing.
A report has not yet been released for this investigation.

[lilflyboy262]

Might be spot on, but the end result is still the same.
I would probably prefer exhaustion in a crash, less of a fire ball.

[PyroTek]

Might be spot on, but the end result is still the same.
I would probably prefer exhaustion in a crash, less of a fire ball.

But the difference between exhaustion and starvation may give the nice people at CASA an easier job of laying blame.:ugh: Whether it's a mechanical or planning issue.

[Peter Fanelli]

The one lucky thing was he was at least visual enough to find the strip as it has no instrument approaches and from memory its not even in the Jepp database, I think Chimbu Chuck and Forkie will confirm this as we had to load it into the 34 various GPS's we had between us going there at the end of 2008.


So, you couldn't go there without it being in the GPS?

Oh dear.
:E

Let the discussion commence.

[27/09]

as we had to load it into the 34 various GPS's we had between us **** only 34 GPS's!!!!!!!, that's a bit rough didn't you have space for any more? Though I guess payload might have been impacted if you had too many more. :D

[Tinstaafl]

Hey..... I have a Garmin GPS watch that I use for outdoor inline speed skate training. They could each have one of those as a backup to the backup for the backup for the secondary backup to the emergency hand held in case #1, #2, #3, #4 & #5 spare GPS's don't work if the data cards are out of date for the numbers #1 to #7 primary GPSs. :p

Or they could just note the time on their watch, fly a heading for a while then find a pinpoint from their DR position using an obsolete form of analogue moving map display. Nah...