First off, ROBERT A "BOB" HOOVER lost BOTH engines in his Shrike Commander because it had been fueled with Jet A. He landed safely.
A device, fitted to the filler cap, was supposed to work in conjunction with fuel nozzles so as to NOT allow JET A fuel nozzle to enter an AVGAS filler.
I guess that didn't happen here.
All the planes I have flown that use AVGAS have a placcard around the filler cap with fuel requirement like: 100LL ONLY and is quite noticeable.
AS far as EFATO, I guess we do things differently on this side of the pond. An engine failure at anytime requires heading towards your PRE SELECTED emergency landing field, ESTABLISHING and trimming for BEst GLIDE SPEED, and then using any restart procedures like: mixture rich, fuel pump on,carb heat on, alternate air select, select another fuel tank, etc.
Now if it happens at 40', you probably don't have time for more than the first 2. And Best rate of climb is usually close enough to best glide speed as to be almost satisfactory. ( a warrior for example, best glide is: 73 and best rate is 79).
AS far as the headline, I ask you all this. When the lawsuit happens (and it will), what will the jury find? That this crash was avoidable if the proper fuel had been used.
Certainly a pilot should always check the fuel by the known methods, but firstly by looking at the fuel truck and seeing what is written on the side: 100LL or JET A.
BACKPACKER, I wrote the post at night and had not just awoken. AS I mentioned above, you should be close to best glide speed if you are trimmed for best rate of climb. And anyone that hasn't taken the time to examine possible landing sites prior to takeoff hasn't done his homework.
It would be nice if someone would post what happens to mixed fuel , but if memory serves, if the fuel looks clear there is danger.
Last edited by skyhighfallguy; 12th Mar 2015 at 23:42.