Air In The Tanks

Ive owned Cessna T210s since 1977; first a 1969 J model and then a 1979 N model with a TSIO-520-R engine. In the 1980s, there were a number of fuel exhaustion accidents in 210s, all of them attributable to not getting a full fill and resulting in being shorted an hours supply when fueling stops after fuel backs up out of the filler port. The outboard sections of the fuel tanks are slightly higher than the bottom of the filler port. To get the last one-plus gallons in the tanks requires the slowest of fueling until reaching the real full point.

Editorial Staff

Thursday, November 29, 2018 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Cessna 210s and similar aircraft can be significantly under-fueled due to unique tank designs, even when appearing full; pilots must ensure proper fueling procedures and accurate fuel gauge calibration to prevent fuel exhaustion.
For in-flight emergencies, pilots should proactively activate 406 MHz ELTs with GPS, as a few signal bursts can provide rapid location to satellites, unlike older ELTs or ADS-B alone.
To mitigate engine failure risks during takeoff, pilots should utilize full runway length rather than intersection departures and pre-plan emergency landing sites beyond the runway end.

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Just read October’s Learning Experience entry, “Air In The Tanks.” This account has two lessons that weren’t expanded upon.

I’ve owned Cessna T210s since 1977; first a 1969 J model and then a 1979 N model with a TSIO-520-R engine. In the 1980s, there were a number of fuel exhaustion accidents in 210s, all of them attributable to not getting a full fill and resulting in being shorted an hour’s supply when fueling stops after fuel backs up out of the filler port. The outboard sections of the fuel tanks are slightly higher than the bottom of the filler port. To get the last one-plus gallons in the tanks requires the slowest of fueling until reaching the real full point.