Sump Early, Sump Often

A time-honored pre-flight inspection ritual is sampling an aircraft’s fuel tanks. The idea, of course, is to drain a quantity from each sump, which usually mounted at a tank’s lowest point, into a clear container, then examine the fuel for contamination and quality: Is it the same stuff that’s supposed to be in the tanks? Are water or other contaminants present? Is it even fuel? In my flying career, at least, it’s rare to find a problem with a fuel sample. But I’ve been quite shocked on a few occasions to find nothing but some very nasty-looking water in a tank or two, which demanded further investigation. Yet, I’ve seen pilots walk up to an airplane for the first flight of the day, kick the tires, light the fires and launch without sumping. Truth be told, I’ve probably done it a couple of times, too. But it’s a bad idea. Here’s why, and what can happen when we fail to sump fuel tanks and ensure we have clean, correct fuel.

Key Takeaways:

• Fuel sumping is a critical pre-flight inspection to detect water and other contaminants in aircraft fuel tanks, which, if neglected, can lead to severe operational issues.
• A fatal 2011 King Air 200 crash, resulting in five fatalities, was directly attributed to water-contaminated fuel that likely wasn't drained during the pre-flight inspection.
• Water accumulation is a common issue in aircraft fuel tanks and can cause engine power interruption during dynamic flight phases like takeoff if it enters the fuel system.
• The accident highlights the absolute necessity of performing thorough pre-flight inspections, including fuel sumping, as required by aircraft operating handbooks to prevent catastrophic failures.

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