Helicopter crash in 2015, due to fuel contamination

[RossM]

Link to story in the news of ATSB findings
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-1...n-atsb/8034080

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The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) says contaminated fuel caused a fatal helicopter crash on a Northern Territory cattle station.

Forty-year-old pilot Dougal Brett died from injuries sustained in the accident in June 2015

[RossM]

maybe I should say sump drain Clock, not c ock, otherwise you get a star in your post

[IanM]

I would highly recommend that all gyro pilots use a Mister Funnel every time that they fill with fuel. As long as your don't park your gyro in the rain with a leaky cap, there is no reason you should ever get dirt or water into your tank if you do not introduce it yourself. It is a much better protection than relying on checking the fuel from the drain daily. It is quite possible to have a fair amount of water or dirt sitting in the bottom of many fuel tanks without it coming out from the drain. Often there is a lip or the fitting protrudes up from the bottom of the tank meaning there can be water or dirt collecting without it coming out of the drain.

[tonydenton]

hello ross you cheeky bugger, I also had fuel restriction problems several years ago. not from water but just dirty fuel filters . if yours was a dirty filter it should of showed up on your E.G.A. gauge as running lean. it did on mine anyway. mine never happened instantly as it was slowly getting dirty and blocked and only when going to full noise.
yours might of been something to do with, you only go to work 4 days a week and it's not used to working hard like you.. anyway back to being serious. the ega showed it running lean and that's from blocked fuel filters. I always keep an eye on that gauge, as much as the rest, and often think how I have never regretted buying it.
next time your down i'll tell you stories from when I had a job in the 80's as a fuel tanker driver for a few years , back when they had the terminal at the port in bundy. talk about water in the bottom of tanks struth..

[tonydenton]

ross has just informed me that he has the sender unit and fitted but doesn't have the gauge , .
he also worked 5 days this week. .

[RickE]

I was going to fill up at the Avgas bowser in Gunnedah a while back and was advised by an aero club member to wait until the next morning as they had just filled the tank and it stirs up all of the sediment and water. At $2.30 a litre you would expect better........!

[Russell]

Geezus.......I find that hard to believe. Law dictates, that aero fuels must be delivered...to you, at an extreme level of quality. And so it should be. The more I dally here, the more I'm seriously alarmed by the above comment. It just can not be true........surely not.

[RickE]

It may not be true Russ, just what I was told. I didn't want to take the risk.

[Russell]

Gday there Rick....yea mate it can't be true, if it's out of a bowser, you'll see a bloody great filter system right next to the pump. If it's out of a drum ....not "sealed" then that's a different story, that's when "you" reeeely filter it etc etc. A "sealed" drum is quality controlled, many places that only have drums, often sell you the whole 200L, that covers their ar#e, the left overs....no longer certified etc. get used ??? Do know if you prang, and claim insurance, insurance will trace your fuel delivery point, making sure it's all legit etc, .....( seeking a way out the buggers )
Did hear some time back, that aero fuellers legally are not allowed to fill YOUR drums, again it's the "quality" control. The more remote fuellers generally turn a blind eye to that tho.
if you're using mogas.......no rules, you can suck it out of a swamp. ( Rec flyers, not GA )
( have seen GA guy, that needed 100ish litres, had to buy the whole drum, he carefully removed the "sealing cover" took what he needed, replaced the sealing cover and zip tied it back on. Fueller guy put the drum to one side for him, and pilot returned on his way back using the rest in the drum.)
sorry getting of topic here.....

[Brian]

I get all my fuel out of an overhead tank thats fitted with a large filter & yet when I change the Z200 fuel filter [ 50 hours] it will have a watery / milky substance in it plus a bit of other gunk. I keep a couple of 20 litre containers only for fuel & I always tip everything out before filling and shake the container upside down until nothining is left.

[bones]

Hmm very interesting as I had heard from a fairly reliable source the contamination in fuel was air ?? Don't know

[Brian]

Your source bones should be fairly accurate but you would think on takeoff the machine would have been fueled up but after filling my gyro many years ago with diesal , anything is possible. Official reports sometimes are doctored for various reasons .Tragic stuff up if the helicopter had no fuel.

[RossM]

How did your Gyro sound on Diesel, Chopper. like an old Lister motor?

[Brian]

Cant say it sounded like a Lister, more like a sick outboard motor. It ran for about 10 minutes after takeoff before starting to loose power so shut it down. Once on the ground a very distinct smell was quite obvious & I twigged what had happened! Didnt do the engine much good either.

[birdy]

You Waddles brother?

Or just same refueler?