Refueling without pax
 

Hello dear friends,

I've searched but couldn't find any information about refueling without pax. There are many information about refueling with pax onboard but not without.


I'm just curios that should there any cockpit crew remains into the aircraft/cockpit during refueling or not ?

Whatever the answer is I need a document. I'm preparing the presentation about fueling policy, so I need your help.

Refueling without pax
 

I cannot provide you with a document but I often arrive at my airliner to find the fuelling guy has been and gone with noone else around. Just the fuel receipt tucked into the power levers.

Refueling without pax is the normal way it is done. No need for crew and normally no need for anyone in the cockpit. Applicable gauges are all down below.

I don't suppose you could share with us what sort of an operation you're referring to?

It will all be defined in the contract between the airline and the fuel supplier. I've previously been involved in a change of fuel suppliers at a particular airport. I had to supervise several refuels until all the bowser drivers were happy with the aircraft type. Usually it's all done and dusted before the crew arrive.

There is usually a document called a service level agreement in place which is an appendix to the contract between the airline and the fuel supplier, this determines the level of activity that the refuelling operator can carry out with and without supervision. The different service levels reflect the level of airline and aircraft specific training the fuelling operator has received.

A good starting point to look for a description of these service levels is the manual JIG 1 (Into-plane fuelling services) and refer to Appendix A11 IATA Levels of service. Aside from this agreement you would need to be aware of the risks around fuelling (e.g. spills) without airline staff in attendance (dare I say carryout a risk assessment) and how assistance would be called to deal with such situations. Also consider is this activity permitted by the airline and by the airport authority?

Since JIG is not the only operations standard used around the world then it may or may not apply at the OP's particular location; however I would expect that other Op Standards will cover the situation in a similar way.

What would be the reason for a crewmember in the cockpit during refueling?

At a guess he/she would be carrying out their normal pre-flight preparation. :ok:

When fueling a DC-8, a MX tech or crewmember would have to be in the cockpit to manipulate the fill valves. There are a few other issues that I would not trust a fueler to accomplish without very specific training.

If I remember correctly, all you need to do is turn on the external GPU on aircraft like the 727 to be able to refuel it with no other people around and is parked with all doors closed and shut down. Therefore, the aircraft can have fuelling complete when the crew arrives.

Otherwise, a typical situation would be that it is just done while the crew is on board and we may happen to notice the fuel quantity increasing and when we see our desired fuel quantity, the seat belt sign is turned on for pax and wait for the fuel sheet as we do other preflight checks.
In other words, there is no policy when there are no pax on board in my experience.

For what its worth. Most airlines will have a refuelling manual for each type they operate. Some carry it on board, these days it could well be part of an electronic flight bag suite.

I found this after a very brief search, not an a/c manual, but it may contain the info required by the OP.

Exxon Fuelling Guide 2003

On my aircraft, there's no technical necessity for the crew to be present during fuelling. About half the time, we're fuelled before I arrive.

If the pax are already on, I believe the only restriction is that the door must be open.

It can be a bit more than that depending on the company and government rules such as seatbelt sign off, Purser advised, min F/A for the flight onboard, PA to pax reminding about no smoking, F/A's at their assigned exit ready to arm slides if necessary, no blocking of designated fueling exits(such as by a catering truck or on the inside.), jetway(or stairs or PTV attached to aircraft with door open(or partially open if weather dictates), no oven or coffeemaker operation, an assist person for anyone who is disabled, pilot on flightdeck in communication with groundcrew, no HF operation, no connecting/disconnecting of GPU, some maintenance restrictions that could cause sparks, minimum electrical storm distance, and a few other smaller items.

A check airman loves to ask these detailed items to their trainees.

Refueling without pax
 

On our outfit, a flight crew member must be on the flight deck during refuelling if the APU is running, ready to kill everything in case of fire.