Capstone Project Deliverable

Capstone Project Deliverable

Objectives of this study

The persistent nature of fuel-related accidents and incidents reported to the ATSB, and the occurrence of several major, high profile fuel-related accidents in recent times, including a rescue helicopter accident near Marlborough in Queensland which claimed five lives(occurrence number 200003130) and an accident involving a Cessna 310R near Newman in Western Australia which claimed four lives(occurrence number 200100348), has prompted the current study(Bentele, 1991).

Background information

Within the Australian aviation industry, fuel-related accidents are generally broken down into two types, fuel exhaustion and fuel starvation. Fuel exhaustion is defined is the state in which the aircraft has become devoid of useable fuel(Bentele, 1991). Fuel starvation is the state in which the fuel supply to the engine is interrupted, although there is adequate fuel on board the aircraft.

Method

Incidents, serious incidents and accidents reported to the ATSB are recorded on the Occurrence Analysis and Safety Investigation System(OASIS) database. For the current study, the OASIS database was searched for all fuel-related accidents between 1981 and 2000 involving registered aircraft(Brown, 2000). Only accident reports were reviewed, as the information on such occurrences generally contain more detail. Only limited conclusions were available for the majority of accidents.

The primary focus of the study was the period 1991-2000 and the majority of the analysis is focused accordingly. However, to allow some comparison with the previous decade(1981-1990), the hours flown and number of fuel-related accidents for 1981-1990 were also collected.

For each accident, the public report and other basic details were reviewed to determine if the accident involved fuel exhaustion or starvation, and to identify any significant contributing factors. A taxonomy of contributing factors was developed based on a review of previous studies, as well as a review of the available information in the sample of accident reports(Brown, 2000). The taxonomy included Pre-Flight Preparation, Events During Flight, Technical Factors and Other Factors, as well as Response to Engine Problem. These terms are defined below(Helfers, 1954).

Pre-Flight Preparation includes those behaviours which are, or should be, carried out by the flight crew prior to takeoff to ensure the safety of the flight in terms of fuel.

Events During Flight include any behaviours which occur after takeoff which have an impact on the safe completion of that flight in terms of fuel.

Technical Factors include any factors relating to the aircraft itself, or any of its systems, which are out of the control of the flight crew and which have a direct impact on the aircraft's fuel situation.

Each of these major categories was divided into a number of possible contributing factors, or actions, which may have been implicated in the occurrence report. The taxonomy was then converted into a checklist for use when analysing each of the occurrence reports. A copy is attached(Helfers, 1954). The taxonomy was only used for accidents occurring between 1991 and 2000, as this was the period of primary focus for the study. The taxonomy of contributing factors used in the previous BASI study was not used in the current study, as it was ...