With a growing number of light aircraft taking on jet-A instead of avgas—from a diesel-powered Cessna 172 to the single-engine Cirrus VisionJet—a prudent pilot stays on guard to supervise fueling if at all possible. But anecdotally speaking, many of us have operated under the impression that misfuelling a piston airplane burning 100LL with jet fuel is tough to do, given the difference in filler-neck sizes and pump-nozzle diameters.
Accident Analysis Compels Pilots to Check Fuel
Key Takeaways:
- Misfueling piston aircraft with jet fuel is a significant and sometimes fatal risk, as demonstrated by a Cessna 421C crash caused by an FBO's jet fuel truck having an improperly sized nozzle, allowing it to fit into an avgas-only fuel port.
- Detecting jet fuel mixed with avgas during pre-flight checks is challenging because they blend well, making visual and olfactory identification difficult for pilots.
- Pilots can identify jet fuel contamination in avgas samples using simple evaporation tests: a drop on paper will leave a residue, or liquid will remain in a GATS straining jar after avgas evaporates.
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