Originally Posted by
Sunfish
It seems that the "final reserve" fuel carried in an aircraft under the new part 91 Manual of standards is never to be used. If you are ever caught with less that the specified reserve in your tanks then you are a criminal. Moreover, you are required to self incriminate.
Thsi requirement also automatically allows your arriving fuel state to be inspected as part of a ramp check.
This is standard ICAO. If you were committed to SYD you would call minimum fuel when the time to SYD would have you landing with fixed reserve. That being either 45, 30, or 15 minutes depending if it was piston, turbine, or ETDO.
Item (4) can be difficult for ATC to understand as EK found out declaring mayday fuel into YVR, ATC said you have YYJ (Victoria) just abeam you which is closer, you sure you want to continue to YVR ? Been a lot of crew applying this incorrectly in the past year in Taiwan and India to get ATC priority. They have been declaring minimum or mayday fuel when they have go below minimum diversion fuel. That is not the case.
Minimum fuel and mayday fuel levels are low, and it is very possible to land below fixed reserve even if you had planned to protect it. For example if you have a very close in alternate like AVV for MEL. You would not be committed to MEL as AVV is so close in, however a diversion to AVV would cost a lot the same amount of fuel as an IFR circuit and approach back into MEL.
Bit like coming into SYD, declaring minimum fuel in the hold at BOREE, Mayday fuel after BELKO and told XRH to your right is closer, state your intentions. My intentions, standby evaluate the information for a minute or two. SYD is now closer.
There no particular requirement to have fixed reserve upon shutdown, there are times I have had to wait for hours to get a gate/stand during poor Wx.
For anyone interested in further detail on the ICAO basis for this feel free to read the “Flight Planning and Fuel Management Manual”. http://www.ifalpa.org/store/doc9976.pdf