“Always Delivering the Correct

Fuel to the Aircraft”

March 2, 2017

Presentation by John C Thurston; World Fuel Services

Inc.; Director, Quality Assurance & Technical Authority
 Misfuellings
• Delivering the wrong fuel grade can result
in aircraft engine damage and failure.

• This could be catastrophic if it occurs

during flight.

World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential

ALL MISFUELLING INCIDENTS ARE PREVENTABLE

– The risk of delivering the wrong grade of fuel

exists because most General Aviation (GA)
aircraft and some schedule, commuter and
charter airline type aircraft are overwing fuelled

– and can therefore be potentially fuelled with

avgas or jet fuel as the fueling nozzles used
may be non-selective (e.g. can fuel aircraft
requiring either type of aviation fuel).

World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential

ALL MISFUELLING INCIDENTS ARE PREVENTABLE

– Delivering the incorrect type or grade of fuel into

an aircraft is termed a ‘Misfuelling’. For piston
engine aircraft this includes:
• Delivery of jet fuel to a spark ignition piston (e.g. Avgas)
engine aircraft

• Delivery of Avgas fuel into a compression ignition (e.g.

diesel) piston engine

• Delivery of Avgas into a spark ignition piston engine

where the octane level of the delivered avgas is lower
than the required octane level for the engine

– For jet turbine-powered aircraft this includes:

• Delivery of Avgas to a turbine powered aircraft.

World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential

ALL MISFUELLING INCIDENTS ARE PREVENTABLE

The serious consequences of Misfuelling include:

– Total engine failure due to knock damage if Jet Fuel is delivered
into a Avgas engine

– Ignition failure if avgas is delivered into a diesel engine powered

aircraft

– Potential engine failure or power loss if an avgas grade is

delivered that is below the minimum specified octane level for that
engine type.

– Vapour lock and engine failure due to fuel starvation if avgas is

delivered into a turbine engine powered aircraft that requires jet
fuel.
• Many turbine engines are capable of operating on avgas, but such
operation is strictly controlled as described in the Pilot Operating Handbook.

World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential

ALL MISFUELLING INCIDENTS ARE PREVENTABLE

• Investigations into past Misfuelling

incidents have identified a variety of
causes. These include;

– Lack of confirmation between the customer

and the fuel supplier over the grade of fuel
required for a specific aircraft

– The grade of fuel required not being clearly

identified on the aircraft at the fueling point

World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential

ALL MISFUELLING INCIDENTS ARE PREVENTABLE

– The grade of fuel being supplied not being

clearly identified on refueling equipment

– Refueling operators not systematically

following Misfuelling prevention procedures
during aircraft refueling

World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential

ALL MISFUELLING INCIDENTS ARE PREVENTABLE

– The similarity in appearance between aircraft even when

they require different grades of fuel

• Examples include – Piper Mirage (avgas) and Piper

Meridian (jet fuel), Cessna 404 Titan (avgas) and
441 Conquest (jet fuel) – where visual appearance of
the aircraft alone cannot be relied on to identify
which grade of fuel the aircraft requires.

Cirrus – Jet Fuel Cirrus – Avgas

World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential

ALL MISFUELLING INCIDENTS ARE PREVENTABLE

– For the safe operation of aircraft IT IS CRITICAL

that a system of procedures and specific
equipment is implemented to ensure the correct
fuel grade is always delivered to aircraft during
overwing fuelling.

– The system depends on clear, well- defined

communication between the into-plane fuel
service operator and the customer regarding the
fuel grade to be delivered by overwing fuelling on
every occasion that an aircraft is fuelled.

World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential

 EI 1597 Miss fuelling prevention, 2nd edition
• EI 1597 “PROCEDURES FOR OVERWING
FUELLING TO ENSURE DELIVERY OF THE
CORRECT FUEL GRADE TO AN AIRCRAFT”

– The JIG Issue 12 has an updated Misfuelling section

of their standard.

– EI-1597 addresses Misfuelling in a similar way as and

can be used at sites not operating to JIG..

– There was also agreement that in addition to the JIG

proposal for an interlock system to control the
location of the small nozzle spout other control
options should be included that will be more readily
adopted in the US GA market.
World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential
 EI 1597 Miss fuelling prevention, 2nd edition

• EI-1597 covers Misfuelling in more depth it

also addresses the subject of FSII. There
was agreement to cover FSII use in fueling
aircraft as a separate section in the
document due to a serious accident where
an aircraft crashed after fueling without
FSII when it was require by the aircraft

World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential

 Equipment
• Selective nozzle spouts (overwing
fuelling)
– Using the wide (selective) jet fuel nozzle spout creates a
physical barrier to prevent its insertion into an avgas fuelling
port.
• Avgas - Maximum nozzle spout diameter is 50 mm or 1,97
inch (in accordance with SAE AS 1852).

• Jet fuel - Spout with a major axis of at least 67, mm or

2,66 inch (in accordance with SAE AS 1852).

World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential

 Equipment
– Overwing nozzle handle or body shall be colour-coded by
locally applied paint or coating or parts supplied by a
manufacturer; black for jet fuel and red for avgas. Components
of the nozzle, such as the spout, which come in contact with
fuel or aircraft connectors, shall not be painted.

World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential

 Equipment
– The use of small grade decals and coloured grade decal
sleeves on overwing delivery hoses and coloured grade decal
tags on overwing nozzle bonding cables can be an additional
safeguard.

World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential

 Equipment
– When aircraft fuelling takes place where the wide (selective) jet fuel
nozzle spout is replaced by a smaller spout the following steps shall be
taken:
– Written procedures shall be prepared and in place to ensure that after
fuelling the smaller spout is removed and replaced by the larger
(selective) jet fuel nozzle spout. Suggested methods include:

• Method 1 (JIG Mandatory Requirement):

– Where it is necessary to store a small jet fuel nozzle spout on
a fuelling vehicle, the nozzle stowage arrangements should
be modified such that the brake interlock system prevents the
vehicle from driving away unless both spouts are stowed.

– The larger selective jet fuel nozzle spout should be attached

to the fuelling nozzle and the smaller diameter (non-
selective) jet fuel spout should also be in an interlocked
stowage elsewhere on the vehicle.

– A site risk assessment of installing such equipment on

existing vehicles should be performed by the fuelling operator

World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential

 Equipment
• Method 2 ( Option in EI-1597)
• Keeping small jet fuel nozzle
spouts in a secure place away from
the vehicle (e.g. line supervisor’s
office) and returning them after
each individual use.
• It is recommended that the
small jet fuel nozzle spouts are
signed out when used and their
return is recorded.

World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential

 Equipment
• Grade identification markings for refuelling
equipment
– Airports may have similar looking fuelling vehicles or kerb
side fuelling equipment supplying jet fuel or avgas. While
fuel grade confirmation procedures ensure identification of
the correct fuel grade, it is still possible to incorrectly
identify the equipment and hence deliver the wrong fuel
grade into aircraft.

– The use of large and clearly visible colour-coded grade

identification markings (see EI Standard 1542
Identification markings for dedicated aviation fuel
manufacturing and distribution facilities, airport storage
and mobile fuelling equipment) on all fuelling storage and
handling equipment shall be applied to assist in grade
recognition.

World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential

 Equipment

World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential

 Procedure

Fuelling personnel shall never make an

assumption about the grade of fuel
required!!!

Grade confirmation between the

customer and into-plane service
provider shall always take place!!!

World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential

 Procedure
• Fuel Request: Misfuelling prevention
begins with the fuel request process when
the fuel grade and associated aircraft
registration shall be clearly established
and communicated;
• Ensuring the vehicle with the correct grade
of fuel is dispatched.

World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential

 Procedure
• Before fuelling commences the Fuelling
Operator shall ensure that at least two of
the following three controls are in place
(listed in order of preference):

World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential

 Procedure
• Control 1
The aircraft is marked with a fuel decal at
each fill point that clearly and without doubt
corresponds to the grade of fuel marked on the
fuelling vehicle, trailer or fixed (kerbside)
delivery equipment.
 
Where wing decals are not fitted, the fuelling
shall only progress if the customer fits the wing
decal to the aircraft and the remaining two
controls described below are completed.

 
World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential
 Procedure

12,0 cm / 4,72"

JET
7,0 cm / 2,76"

FUEL
World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential
 Procedure
Other Type Grade decals

World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential

 Procedure
• Control 2
The fuelling nozzle spout and the aircraft fuel
tank port (fill point) correspond to the norm for
the fuel grade, i.e. For jet fuel, a wide
selective nozzle spout and large aircraft port,
and for avgas, a small circular spout and a
narrow aircraft port.

World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential

 Procedure
• Control 3
A Fuel Grade Confirmation Form, completed,
signed and dated by the aircraft pilot or
agent, has been received by the Fuelling
Operator.

World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential

 Procedure
EXAMPLE FUEL GRADE CONFIRMATION FORM
This form shall be completed before each fuelling when one of the following applies (tick the box that
applies):
 The aircraft is not marked with a fuel grade decal which clearly and without doubt
corresponds with the grade of fuel marked on the fuelling vehicle or kerbside delivery
equipment.
 The fuelling nozzle spout or the aircraft fuel tank port do not correspond to the norm for the
particular fuel grade, i.e. for jet fuel a wide selective nozzle spout and large aircraft port, and
for avgas a small circular spout and narrow aircraft port.
 For overwing fuelling during air-shows.

TO BE COMPLETED BY AIRLINE/AIRCRAFT AUTHORISED REPRESENTATIVE

To: ............................................................................................. (Into-plane service)
At: .............................................................................................. (Airport)
Aircraft Registration Number: ......................................

The aviation fuel requirements for this aircraft are as follows:

FUEL GRADE (*) QUANTITY

JET FUEL

Jet A-1 or Jet A

AVGAS

(AVGAS 100LL)

(*) Write either Jet A-1, Jet A or AVGAS 100LL in the appropriate box.

Note: Where unleaded avgas (UL91) is available, the fuel grade confirmation forms shall be modified
to include unleaded avgas as a separate grade.

Note: Different grades of Avgas may be available on the airport (e.g. Avgas 100, Avgas UL 91) and
the fuel grade confirmation form shall be modified to include these.

I confirm that the above fuel grade is suitable for use in the aircraft referred to above .
Name ................................................ Signature............................................
Position ............................................. Date........................................... Time..............................
TO BE COMPLETED BY FUELLING OPERATOR IF JET FUEL WAS DELIVERED BY NON-
SELECTIVE SPOUT
I confirm that the grade-selective spout was reattached to the nozzle after completion of fuelling
Name ................................................ Signature……………………………

World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential

 Procedure
• If only one of controls 1, 2 and 3 is met the
fuelling shall not proceed and the
Fuelling Operator shall immediately inform
their Fuelling Service Manager or
Supervisor.
– A written explanation from the aircraft
pilot or agent and fuelling service
management verification in writing is
required before the fuelling may
proceed.

World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential

 Procedure
• Post Delivery Fuel Grade Confirmation:
Before leaving the aircraft at the
completion of fuelling the Fuelling
Operator shall make a final check of the
accepted controls (two out of three) as
shown above.
• If an anomaly is discovered after
completion of fuelling, the aircraft pilot and
fuelling service supervisor shall be
informed immediately.

World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential

 Site Training
• Local staff shall develop a written, risk assessed,
Job Task which contains a step by step procedure
on how to overwing fuel an aircraft or helicopter.

• All staff should be trained on this procedure.

• Training aides, such as posters or bulletins

describing the requirements contained in this
Recommended Practice, which can be located on
wall/doors/bulletin boards, are useful reminders to
refuelling staff of the need for vigilance in
preventing misfuelling.

World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential

 JIG and EI-1597
• Both JIG Issue 12 and EI-1597 also
address Misfuelling prevention guidance
on:
– Control of unattended fuellings
– Control of standing orders
– Fuelling with permanently installed small
(non-selective) nozzle spouts
–  Control of self-service fuelling

• These should be consulted if encountered

at your site.
World Fuel Services Proprietary & Confidential
Thank You