Too low, too late: When fuel emergencies become deadly

WHAT SEPARATES SURVIVAL FROM CATASTROPHE COMES DOWN TO FACTORS SUCH AS ALTITUDE AND TIME, FACTORS THAT DETERMINE IF PROBLEMS CAN BE DIAGNOSED

- HT Correspondent

From the “Gimli Glider” that ran out of fuel at 41,000 feet to general aviation pilots who selected empty tanks, a four-decade pattern of aviation accidents show that fuel management errors consistently prove fatal when altitude and time work against recovery efforts.

An analysis of National Transportation Safety Board reports suggests that 95% of fuel-related aviation accidents stem from human error rather than mechanical failure, with pilots repeatedly making critical mistakes in high-stress situations involving fuel controls, tank selectors and cutoff switches.

The margin for error becomes razor-thin during the most demanding phases of flight. What separates survival from catastrophe often comes down to precious seconds and hundreds of feet of altitude — factors that determine whether crews have sufficient time to diagnose problems, execute recovery procedures and restart failed systems before impact.