Flight Safety Australia had an article in the September/October 2005 edition called "Attack of the Funghi" which states that the funghi causes the formation of a "gooey matt" which can "cause blocking of the engine fuel feed system". This is unlikely if good maintenance is being performed (a big "if" in many operations and parts of the world), but the article goes on to state that the real problem is "corrosion to the wing structure". This corrosion happens in a number of ways that the article details, such as:
- reducing the surface tension of the water so that it spreads into small gaps more effectively;
- acid byproducts reacting with the chromate in primer paint turning it into a passive form so it will no longer sacrifice itself to protect the aluminium;
- increasing the electrical condictivity of the water allowing electrons to flow more easily, accelerating the oxidation process;
- directly attacking aluminium.
The article was written by an aeronauical engineer. I would consider this to be "severe".
The rest of the article, about detection and treatment, seems to highlight the risks if vigorous maintenace and correction procedures are not undertaken, and the cost of things like cleaning the tanks. Not to mention the environmental impacts of all of these additives and fuel tank cleaning etc.
And here's the thing from my point of view - it's the Jurrasic Park Principal (don't try to look it up, I made it up) - ie - When human generated complex systems require human delivered complex maintenance, it's a question of WHEN not IF something goes pear-shaped. Therefore, anything that simplifies the maintenance and improves the outcomes reduces risk. And when we're talking about aircraft, we're talking about lives. The risk, specifically, is death. Potentially lots of death.
Problem is there seems to be a lot of vested interests in justifying the status quo and lots of businesses built around airplane fuel additives and such who want to push the line that everything works just fine. So who is going to take a proper, objective look at these issues and consider ALL of the alternatives?
Anyway, now I feel like a conspiracy nut, but with even the mainstream media picking up stories about fuel problems grounding planes and causing issues, it makes me wonder if there isn't a bigger issue here.