Flybe fuel leak at Aberdeen

[OntimeexceptACARS]

The (yes I know) Daily Mail report a fuel leak, videoed by a pax on a Flybe Gash 8 at ABZ.
I guess no chance of overfuelling, maybe a seal or connection failure?
Note the standard use of the word "shocking" in the report.

Caught on camera: The shocking moment fuel leaks out of passenger plane's engine as it taxis to the runway at Aberdeen Airport | Daily Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3399041/Caught-camera-shocking-moment-fuel-leaks-passenger-plane-s-engine-taxis-runway-Aberdeen-Airport.html)

OTEA

[philbky]

Far more shocking than a tech fault that seems to have flagged itself up in the cockpit is the appalling attempt at censorship by the staff at Aberdeen telling people not to take photos.

[Airbanda]

Far more shocking than a tech fault that seems to have flagged itself up in the cockpit is the appalling attempt at censorship by the staff at Aberdeen telling people not to take photos.

Context is not clear in Mail report. If there was any attempt to stop pax taking pictures out of aircraft window that's bad. If they were loitering on the apron do to so after disemabarking it's quite right that they were moved on pronto.

[HeartyMeatballs]

People are advised not to use phones when filing their car. Seems reasonable to do so on the apron with a plane leaking fuel no?

However a bit different if they are stopping them within the aircraft.

[hoss183]

It could be Daily Fail grammar but i dont get what they are trying to say with this sentence:
"A spokesperson for Flybe told MailOnline: 'On initial start up the engines failed to respond alerting the captain to a fail-safe mechanism being activated due to a possible technical fault with the aircraft. This was confirmed upon inspection."

[Heathrow Harry]

"People are advised not to use phones when filing their car. Seems reasonable to do so on the apron with a plane leaking fuel no?"

there is absolutely no danger when using a mobile phone when fueling your car

the UK Energy Instititute, who write the British Standards for gas stations, put out a press realease several years ago

It's a bit of an urban myth - or "'elf & safety gone mad"

[Chesty Morgan]

There used to be though when fuel contents were measured by a Wheatstone Bridge sort of jobby.

[Heathrow Harry]

IIRC it all started when a delivery tanker didn't earth the truck before connecting the hose to the underground tank - there was flash but no real fire - I think they may have modified the design so the connection automatically earths these days

Certainly nothing to do with a mobile phone but it gave people something else to put up a DON'T DO THIS sign........

A cynic might even think that it was done to speed up people pumping gas rather than talking to their nearest & dearest........................

[Airbanda]

The UK Petroleum Industry Association's line is set out here:

UKPIA - Refining Britain's Fuels - Mobile Phones on Filling Station Forecourts (http://www.ukpia.com/industry_issues/health-and-safety/mobile-phones-on-forecourts.aspx)

Risk one is distraction increasing probability of pedestrian/vehicle accidents

Risk two something called incendive sparking. In risk assessment terms it's very low probability but massive consequence. Since nobody NEEDS to use a phone on the forecourt prohibition is a sensible control measure.

[philbky]

Context is not clear in Mail report. If there was any attempt to stop pax taking pictures out of aircraft window that's bad. If they were loitering on the apron do to so after disemabarking it's quite right that they were moved on pronto.

Fair comment

People are advised not to use phones when filing their car. Seems reasonable to do so on the apron with a plane leaking fuel no?

No, even if the mobile phone/petrol station urban myth had any credence, which it hasn't, the flash point of petrol is -43 degrees C, that of Jet A-1 is +100 degrees C

[PT6Driver]

Report does say "airport staff" which would suggest they were not on the aircraft at the time.

[Heathrow Harry]

Probably walking from to/from another plane parked on the tarmac as you have to do at ABZ- that's what happens when you don't have jet-ways - the SLF get an insight into the grim details of apron activity

[Ambient Sheep]

Back in the late 80s and early 90s, I used to write embedded software for a leading supplier of petrol station equipment.

Although there is in theory a miniscule risk of inductive sparking being caused by mobile phone usage, the real reason - well known within the industry at the time - that the ban was brought in was because many manufacturers' pumps could be made to skip readings or even be fully reset by someone holding a phone near them and making a call. Fill up with 50 litres, pay for 5... unsurprisingly, this was actually the main concern to the powers that be, given the tiny risk of a spark.

(Readers with long memories may recall that people with illegal "burners" (i.e. boosters) on their CB radio transmitters could pull off the same trick.)

Since the introduction of EMC regulations in the late 90s that covered electromagnetic immunity, I believe such tricks are no longer possible, which is why TPTB are no longer fussed about it - indeed, I heard an advert on my car radio today for a new phone app that allows you to pay for the petrol you've just taken while sat in your car...