Ahm,...excuse me, at 7%?!? Is this guy nuts?
Not really. What makes him nuts, is the fact that he KNEW he had been flying for 15min with the light on... This gauge was incorrect, and he relied on that. After all the investigation showed that it was only 2 ltr left in the tank, (alot less than 7 % which is 37,5 ltr) and just about what is published as unusable fuel in the 350.
Everyone that have been flying external ops in the 350(any machine really) have been subject to on the limit liftjobs, and therfore use of limited fuel to be carried. There is nothing that prevent you from flying with the light on in short priods to get the job done, but you must know what you're doing and follow a procedure.... In short: TIME
Now, can you dispatch a helicopter with the fuel gauge inop?? According to my MEL I can, provided I have a way to figure out when to land. Known amount of fuel put in the tank, and TIMED operation.
So the conclusion is: when the light comes on, start the time and know exactly how long you can safely operate, and ofcourse in the perfect world, never even see the light come on..
This has been working for me for many years.
Or maybe I am just nuts?!
