Originally Posted by
RickNRoll
The benefit of having to cal Mayday is that it publicly names and shames operators who send out planes with not enough fuel.
Ah, but it may not be true that a 'plane' whose crew declares a fuel Mayday was 'sent out' with 'not enough fuel' in fact.
Let's pluck an example. I know: Let's use the one that precipitated this thread.
Qantas chief pilot Dick Tobiano said air traffic controllers had requested the aircraft remain in a holding pattern for longer than the QF933 pilots had previously been advised, and that to be given priority to land they needed to make a fuel mayday call.
“The aircraft landed with 40 minutes of fuel in the tank, which is well above the minimum requirements. Our pilots followed the correct procedures and there was no safety issue with the flight,” he said in a statement.
Tobiano said the pilots had loaded fuel based on pre-flight conditions in accordance with the requirements of Australia’s air-safety regulator ...
I'll bet leftie that ATSB won't conclude that the aircraft was 'sent out' with 'not enough fuel'.