Massive Inflight Fuel Leak Cessna 182 Stupid Mistake

[@SI-lg2vp]

In commercial aviation we always do the math of accounting the fuel uploaded with the fuel gauges. This gives us a known quality check to help detect any fueling errors.

[@ChrisFlies]

That's why I love flying with you guys, you kinda know what you're doing and there are lots of checks in place. I just made a stupid mistake and the gauges are terrible on this 182, but I guess I could have always landed in a field if it did run dry, not a great option in a jet I guess, unless you are Russian

[@user-rl5nd3ys8p]

I always climbed up and checked the caps prior to saddling up. I've previously started up and thought about it ,and of course had to shut down and check !!!

[@ChrisFlies]

SO easy to check and so dumb not to! I've learnt a valuable lesson here

[@livnrluvsng]

I had the same exact occurrence on a business trip to Farmingdale KFRG in the early 90's with my 182RG. I was in a rush to get back to Virginia and almost skipped this step which I'd never done previously. It's a damned good thing I did. As I checked the tanks as part of my preflight I noticed that the co-pilot gas cap was loose after the FBO topped the tanks. From that point forward I knew never to skip any step of the checklist. I also sump the fuel tanks after filling just in case water or other contaminants happensto be present in the fuel.

[@ChrisFlies]

Great advice and I have learnt to use my checklists for everything too.

[@dancloran355]

Hi Chris its the Instructor you met at Oxford a couple of weeks ago when I recognised your plane. Thanks for sharing this. Im going to make it essential viewing for students whose pre flights are..."less than thorough" should we say..

[@ChrisFlies]

Hi Dan, lovely to hear from you and yes please do share my mistakes with your students. It's so easy to miss out something like this by just being lazy or assuming it's been checked. I was out with a helicopter pilot lastnight who always checks the fuel level before and after it's filled up. Good practice and something I'll do from now on.

[@surreyarborist]

I think that in the past there was an issues with the Bae146 on the Queens flight where the inspection cap for the engine oil system had not been done up damage caused to the engines. Must of been 20 years ago that.

[@ChrisFlies]

It's always the smallest things that cause the biggest issues. At least I have learnt to check then recheck everything. Bit like making sure you've doubled up the figure of eight on your harness before you absail off that 100ft tree!

[@roadlaw]

Well done Chris, good video and thanks for posting. We've all done things in our flying careers that leave us wondering why we made that mistake - ironically everything has been done before by others, but sometimes the only way the lesson is learned is by making the same error ourselves. I can pretty much guarantee you will never fly with a fuel cap unsecured from now on......This is where the advent of KZbin and its like for flying lessons can be valuable, so again well done for posting. You can guarantee someone will watch this and hopefully catch it before they have the same excitement. As a matter of interest, the world of GA and fuel consumption is an interesting issue - we know that light aircraft fuel gauges are notoriously unreliable, and are only required to be accurate when reading empty, I believe. So just how do you measure fuel usage? Personally, like you I dip the tanks for an actual reading, then keep a running log going at a suitably conservative fuel flow rate, changing tanks every twenty minutes. I combine the tank change with a FREDA check. Our aircraft has four tanks, with no crossfeed, so a disciplined approach in recording times and therefore consumption is necessary. What this doesn't help with though is the fuel leak scenario - only visually seeing it or possibly interpreting an unusually low gauge indication will help here. Well done, keep it up.

[@ChrisFlies]

Thank you for your very kind comment. Yep the hard lessons are the good ones, just hope I avoid the really hard ones! We have a dip gauge tube for the 182. I always dip the tanks three times when doing my checks and take the lowest reading. I also use 14USG p/h as fuel flow which is a worst case but should save me from running low, as long as the fuel caps are in the correct place!!! We’re hopefully getting a glass cockpit installed soon so will have digital fuel flow which will help a great deal. I’ve never trusted the fuel gauges as they just wobble. And the 182 is a nightmare for cross feeding and have much more fuel on the starboard tank than the port tank. I’ve even landed after a 1 hour flight, dipped the tanks and found I have more fuel than when I departed. An instructor I know, very experienced guy, looked at his in wing fuel gauge on his Piper Saratoga, had the engine run rough and stop in flight, flicked tanks over, restated and made a precautionary landing. Loads of checking later turned up a faulty fuel gauge, the tank was empty! No other way to check as you can’t visually inspect it. Keeping a log, which you do, is the smart way to fly.

[@richardgreen6857]

Every pilot has done something stupid on their way to becoming a better pilot - as an aside, I have a low wing aircraft so I can clearly see the fuel caps, but I have taken to sumping the fuel drains after a refuel…nothing transpired to make this happen other than a reported contamination of fuel in an aircraft incident somewhere far away.

[@ChrisFlies]

Thanks Richard, I reckon I would not spot a missing fule cap on the PA28 if I wasn't looking for it! You just get so focused on the task in hand and then confirmation bias overrules everything else. I am no a lot more aware of what's going on; check, recheck and maybe check once more

[@ssok4133]

Mate, how did you not smell the fuel when you parked?

[@ChrisFlies]

Good questions, I think it had just been blown off and evaporated. The big spill at teh start was from full tanks, once they had dropped a bit the fuel just pulled out and atomised. I even put the cover back on which means getting on the top, but did not see the fuel cap was not in place, becasue I wasn't looking, nor smell any fuel. Bizzare and very lucky / stupid!

[@ssok4133]

I gotcha. Hey mate, we are human. Great learning lesson. Thanks for sharing your story. You might have saved someone else, and never know it from sharing. @@ChrisFlies

[@fyrefox98]

Thank God for bad weather.

[@ChrisFlies]

Amen to that, never been so happy to have had to cut a flight short due to weather. Someone was looking out for me!

[@dominic9028]

I never sub to channels that ask or beg for "like share subscribe". Every person on earth knows thats an option....

[@ChrisFlies]

Roger that, no more begging from me, be PLEASE sign up. Just kidding. Thanks for watching

[@AndyWhite]

I'm with you 100% but there is something about the tone of those comments in this video that is more about 'spread this safety message' rather than 'please boost my ego.' Regardless, I'm now a subscriber. Great content; anyone willing to share their mistakes for the benefit of others is encapsulating what it is to fly aeroplanes. It happens in airlines every day and is one reason they have the safety records they do.