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The Velveteen Ocelot

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18. You can't visually inspect the fuel tanks on a big jet. You have to rely on the numbers supplied

Sat Mar 9, 2019, 06:01 PM

Mar 2019

Last edited Sat Mar 9, 2019, 06:57 PM - Edit history (1)

when the ground crew fuels the airplane. (There are what's called dripless sticks which give you at least a WAG) There's a before and after gauge on the fuel truck, and those numbers are given to the crew and to dispatch for weight purposes as well as required fuel, but the fuel guys supplied the load in pounds rather than kilograms and the flight crew didn't catch the error.

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An Airplane Ran Out of Fuel at 41,000 Feet. Here's What Happened Next [View all] yortsed snacilbuper Mar 2019 OP

This is an amazing story. The captain's hobby was flying gliders, The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2019 #1

Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger was also a glider pilot. DemoTex Mar 2019 #8

No matter what else happens.. RightiswrongTn Mar 2019 #15

Absolutely! DemoTex Mar 2019 #21

+1 2naSalit Mar 2019 #25

How many others would have tried to stretch it and ended up maybe short and in a building. Hassin Bin Sober Mar 2019 #38

Yup, the mantra is Aviate, navigate then communicate... nt mitch96 Mar 2019 #29

Also, learn your math! burrowowl Mar 2019 #36

That's why I liked flying Gliders... mitch96 Mar 2019 #40

In this photo, there is a rather large gentleman 2/3 louis-t Mar 2019 #19

That's pretty cool. Kurt V. Mar 2019 #24

I found a blog, and read a bunch of pilots had dissed Sully. MicaelS Mar 2019 #27

Heart-pounding! Heroic pilots--wow. cp Mar 2019 #2

Knew it had to be Gimli hatrack Mar 2019 #3

Yes it's an amazing story and the captain was right on the button. grumpyduck Mar 2019 #4

This message was self-deleted by its author Nitram Mar 2019 #12

When I was in the Navy TimeToGo Mar 2019 #22

"one of the instructors shut off the fuel without my knowing it," mitch96 Mar 2019 #31

See, this is why the US doesn't convert to the metric system. n/t PoliticAverse Mar 2019 #5

Some years ago one of our spacecraft missed Mars because of such an error. Nitram Mar 2019 #11

I remember the mission debriefing: LastLiberal in PalmSprings Mar 2019 #28

I'm currently working on aircraft parts House of Roberts Mar 2019 #16

It is indeed a waste of time to use anything but the metric system. Nitram Mar 2019 #47

It's a shame that the aircraft was scrapped... regnaD kciN Mar 2019 #6

Its always about math.... Historic NY Mar 2019 #7

What sort of a pilot does not know how much fuel there is... where was ground maint? NotHardly Mar 2019 #9

Here's what happened: The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2019 #14

I'm surprised the MEL allowed this. Major Nikon Mar 2019 #23

Here's what the accident report says about the MEL: The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2019 #26

It's hard to make heads or tails about what happened from that Major Nikon Mar 2019 #32

There was a lot of confusion by a lot of people about a lot of things in that accident. The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2019 #43

What a story! Those pilots had nerves of steel. Nitram Mar 2019 #10

There is one important detail missing from this video... GetRidOfThem Mar 2019 #13

You can't visually inspect the fuel tanks on a big jet. You have to rely on the numbers supplied The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2019 #18

In a small GA aircraft, the fuel gauges aren't much more sophisticated than a toilet bowl float. Major Nikon Mar 2019 #34

A 747 has a glide ratio of 14:1, much better than a C-172. You wouldn't think so, but The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2019 #44

gimli glider dawn5651 Mar 2019 #17

I was at Gimli when it landed. Scruffy1 Mar 2019 #20

Never heard of this, great story! n/t lordsummerisle Mar 2019 #30

Here's a similar incident which occurred over the mid-Atlantic in 2001. LastLiberal in PalmSprings Mar 2019 #33

If I lost my sextant port, I'm not sure I'd tell anyone Major Nikon Mar 2019 #35

Thanks for link to Brilliant! burrowowl Mar 2019 #37

I remember reading about this and that he was lucky the front landing gear did no lock into place or cstanleytech Mar 2019 #39

Pulling your butt out of the fire... paleotn Mar 2019 #41

This was wayyyy more complicated than not following a checklist. The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2019 #45

Years ago I ran into fuel conversions on a simulator. rickford66 Mar 2019 #42

Dammit, man, how many farthings in a furlong? tclambert Mar 2019 #46

Why the US doesn't use metric (even though it does) yortsed snacilbuper Mar 2019 #48