When Low Fuel Becomes No Fuel

One of the most famous and tragic of fuel-exhaustion crashes occurred on Jan. 25, 1990. Upon arrival in the New York area after a flight from Bogot, the 707 was placed into a hold for an hour and 27 minutes due to fog at JFK. The pilots were not native English speakers and never used the actual word emergency in describing their fuel situation to ATC, using only minimum fuel instead and never stating their fuel state in minutes. During that time, they burned away all the fuel they needed to make Boston, their alternate.

Key Takeaways:

• A fatal fuel exhaustion crash (Avianca Flight 52) occurred due to prolonged holding, exacerbated by a language barrier and pilots not explicitly declaring their critical fuel state.
• Another significant incident involved an Air Canada Boeing 767 running out of fuel mid-flight because of a mix-up between metric and imperial fuel measurements.
• Despite both engines failing, the exceptional skill of the captain, an experienced glider pilot, enabled a successful deadstick landing of the powerless aircraft, averting tragedy.

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