Kudos to the pilot who brought SAA flight in from Ghana

IN April, an SAA Airbus A330-300 was allowed to take off from Accra to OR Tambo with more than 200 passengers and crew, being fully aware that the loaded aviation fuel had water in it.

It was reported that one of the engines surged in mid-flight. A fuel contamination event can lead to catastrophic consequences if not timeously detected and properly corrected.

No plane should be released for flight if it has dangerous levels of fuel contamination.

Many accidents have occurred due to lower grade fuel involving dirty and incorrect grade type fuel.

It is of critical importance that fuel taken on board at uplift is not contaminated in any way since the effect of any such contamination is likely to affect all engines and this may not be evident until after an aircraft has become airborne.

On April 13, 2010, Cathay Pacific Airways flight CPA780, an Airbus 330, flying from Indonesia to Hong Kong, had to make an emergency landing due to contaminated fuel which caused engine problems and abnormal engine pressure ratios (EPR) fluctuations on both engines.

One passenger suffered serious injuries, while 56 passengers and six crew members sustained minor injuries.

Super absorbent polymers were a factor in the fuel contamination process. British Airways and a Biman Bangladesh 777 aircraft had major fuel contamination episodes.

In 2014 a BA 777 crashed near Heathrow and had to be written off due to contaminated fuel.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued a safety information bulletin warning about these polymers, which contaminate fuel nozzles during refuelling. They can cause engine in-flight shut downs.

Water contamination of fuel that turns to ice can cause a blockage to an aircraft’s fuel system and engine and can lead to erratic performance, or worse, complete systems failure leading to a forced landing or crash. Fuel contamination involving passenger aircraft is witnessed across the globe.

Commercial passenger aircraft engines operating on jet fuel may become airborne, with no indication that the fuel is contaminated.

Later the engines fail, with potential catastrophic consequences. On many occasions the pilot’s inadequate supervision of the fuel servicing was a “contributing factor”. It is indeed a miracle that the SAA flight from Ghana to Johannesburg landed safely.

Pilot skills saved the plane from possible deadly consequences.