Someone put Jet-A in my tanks

[SantosDumont]

Someone at an organization that should definitely know the difference mistook my M20F for a Beechcraft C12 and filled all four tanks with Jet-A.  Luckily their supervisor caught their mistake and found me before I started the engine.

My mechanic is coming on Monday to help flush the tanks.  I already called my insurance to start a claim.  What damage is this going to do to the tank or the fuel lines.  Anyone else ever have this happen?  How much is this going to cost?  What am I not thinking of that I need to do?

[RLCarter]

Why are you calling YOUR insurance company? The FBO should pay not you. Mis-fueling happens and if you catch it before startup you are pretty lucky, should be a simple drain, flush and re-fuel. I would have rather my A&P drain the Jet-A out sooner than Monday, but that's just me

[Yetti]

Other than trying not to burn down the plane, this is not a hard thing.   Pull the tank sumps and drain everything out.   Flush tanks with fresh 100LL provided for by the offending party.   Pull the electric pump access panel and crack the line past the pump and pump some fresh 100LL through it.   Pull the screen filter on the selector switch.   Should probably have gasket kit on hand.    Would think that would get most all of the JET A that needs to be got.  

If you wanted to be sure then pull the finger screen hose and use electric pump to flush that line also.  It will probably cost the FBO 40 to 60 gallons of fresh 100LL to flush everything out.  Apply all the standard safety and environmental procedures.

[ArtVandelay]

Other than trying not to burn down the plane, this is not a hard thing.   Pull the tank sumps and drain everything out.   Flush tanks with fresh 100LL provided for by the offending party.   Pull the electric pump access panel and crack the line past the pump and pump some fresh 100LL through it.   Pull the screen filter on the selector switch.   Should probably have gasket kit on hand.    Would think that would get most all of the JET A that needs to be got.  

If you wanted to be sure then pull the finger screen hose and use electric pump to flush that line also.  It will probably cost the FBO 40 to 60 gallons of fresh 100LL to flush everything out.  Apply all the standard safety and environmental procedures.

I would pull a sample from the gasolator after flush and check it, before disassembling further, if the JetA didn’t make it to the gasolator then why you do need to check further? If no JetA found, then I would do a long runup.

[PTK]

Why are you people so quick to drain the tanks? Waste all that Jet-A and 100 LL to flush it? Doesn’t it seem more logical to swap the Lycoming for a Pratt & Whitney? Before going to the trouble of draining tanks! Hang a PT6A on it and he'd have one serious Mooney! Think outside the box people! 

[Guest]

Is your plane turbocharged?  If so does it say so on the cowl as many airplanes do?  Most manufacturers issued instructions to remove “Turbo” from the cowls.   Many airplanes over the years have been mis fueled despite a proper placard at the filler port.

Caught without starting the engine causes not harm to the fuel system, drain all tanks, flush with fresh fuel open the fuel line at the engine and drain/pump some fuel through, run up as normal and fly.

Clarence

[SantosDumont]

7 hours ago, RLCarter said:

Why are you calling YOUR insurance company? The FBO should pay not you. Mis-fueling happens and if you catch it before startup you are pretty lucky, should be a simple drain, flush and re-fuel. I would have rather my A&P drain the Jet-A out sooner than Monday, but that's just me

For the same reason you call your insurance company when you get in a car accident. If the other party decides not to pay I still need help right now. I don’t want my mechanic to have to drive 60 miles out to the airport, put in a days worth of work draining 4 tanks on a 120 degree tarmac while trying not to burn to death and then have to fight to get paid by the offending party.  Let the insurance company fight to get the money. 

[SantosDumont]

32 minutes ago, PTK said:

Why are people so quick to drain the tanks? Depending on his present engine times and how close it's to an OH, I would think long and hard about an engine replacement before I'd go to the trouble of draining talks! Hang a Pratt & Whitney PT6A on it and he'd have one serious Mooney! 

It is time for a new engine, compressions are all excellent though, so trying to baby it and get a few hundred more hours out of it. Hoping this mishap doesn’t shorten that plan significantly. 

[SantosDumont]

26 minutes ago, M20Doc said:

Is your plane turbocharged?  If so does it say so on the cowl as many airplanes do?  Most manufacturers issued instructions to remove “Turbo” from the cowls.   Many airplanes over the years have been mis fueled despite a proper placard at the filler port.

Caught without starting the engine causes not harm to the fuel system, drain all tanks, flush with fresh fuel open the fuel line at the engine and drain/pump some fuel through, run up as normal and fly.

Clarence

Not turbocharged although the paint scheme may make it look otherwise. All 4 tanks clearly labeled 100LL ONLY right next to the fuel caps. 

[Danb]

Santos hopefully the FBO will make it right, recently a lineman caused a leak in my tank. The FBO couldn’t have been nicer  handled it professionally. The repaired the problem properly. If you have a good result let the forum know who and how great the mgt was correcting the issue. I feel your pain. Love your paint scheme

[Yetti]

3 hours ago, teejayevans said:

I would pull a sample from the gasolator after flush and check it, before disassembling further, if the JetA didn’t make it to the gasolator then why you do need to check further? If no JetA found, then I would do a long runup.

Because the screen on the tank switch has probably not been cleaned and pulled in several years so now is a good time to get someone else to pay to have it done.  Like the Doc said.   Pulling the hose at the servo and running some fuel through would accomplish the same.   and you could check the fuel servo finger screen to and make sure it is clean.   JET A Mixed with 100LL is really hard to tell that it has been mixed. 

 

[Boilermonkey]

When one pays for fuel service liability is assumed by the provider of the service. Part of the increased cost is to cover their liability. So, the $0.50 upcharge from self serve that we all sometimes pay is fixing this issue.

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[FloridaMan]

I generally try to be present when being fueled for similar reasons. Mooney owners have a reputation and I didn't want to fit the stereotype. After having my nose truss tweaked at one FBO, and then finding a fuel cap installed incorrectly at another, resulting in over a quart of water getting into my tank (I caught this on preflight, and had I not been in the habit of smelling what I sump, I might not have caught it because the cup was 100% water), and then having an engine failure on takeoff at 200ft due to FOD after leaving an MSC that landed me in a field, I have become painfully present during servicing. 

[SantosDumont]

3 hours ago, Antares said:

I generally try to be present when being fueled for similar reasons. Mooney owners have a reputation and I didn't want to fit the stereotype. After having my nose truss tweaked at one FBO, and then finding a fuel cap installed incorrectly at another, resulting in over a quart of water getting into my tank (I caught this on preflight, and had I not been in the habit of smelling what I sump, I might not have caught it because the cup was 100% water), and then having an engine failure on takeoff at 200ft due to FOD after leaving an MSC that landed me in a field, I have become painfully present during servicing. 

I agree. In this case though I didn’t request any fuel, they went out and fueled the wrong plane.  Has me wondering if locking fuel caps are available as I could see how this could happen again. After this I will be checking fuel qty and sumping religiously as part of pre flight.  Although I honestly don’t know that I’d be able to tell by sumping that there was jet-a in my fuel. 

[ArtVandelay]

I agree. In this case though I didn’t request any fuel, they went out and fueled the wrong plane.  Has me wondering if locking fuel caps are available as I could see how this could happen again. After this I will be checking fuel qty and sumping religiously as part of pre flight.  Although I honestly don’t know that I’d be able to tell by sumping that there was jet-a in my fuel. 

Away from home I always ask to fuel the plane immediately, while I am there. It’s also better to have wet tanks full. But sometimes this is impossible. KSQL is an example, the fuel truck is offsite, so far they have done a good job, including not filling up to the lip as requested.
I assume a proper runup would catch a larger quantity of JetA, but a small amount? I believe a small amount of would just lower octane rating.

[carusoam]

On 7/29/2018 at 2:52 AM, SantosDumont said:

I agree. In this case though I didn’t request any fuel, they went out and fueled the wrong plane.  Has me wondering if locking fuel caps are available as I could see how this could happen again. After this I will be checking fuel qty and sumping religiously as part of pre flight.  Although I honestly don’t know that I’d be able to tell by sumping that there was jet-a in my fuel. 

Eesh... I hadn’t contemplated that error before...

Glad you found out before anything got too far.

Jet Fuel gets you in the air... but destroys the pistons by the time you reach the traffic pattern...

There are pics of a Mooney that went out to sea around here somewhere... mis fueled.

I usually close the caps myself when getting fuel... it is a reminder to do all the steps at once... line men don’t mind at all...

Best regards,

-a-

[FloridaMan]

On 7/29/2018 at 2:52 AM, SantosDumont said:

I agree. In this case though I didn’t request any fuel, they went out and fueled the wrong plane.  Has me wondering if locking fuel caps are available as I could see how this could happen again. After this I will be checking fuel qty and sumping religiously as part of pre flight.  Although I honestly don’t know that I’d be able to tell by sumping that there was jet-a in my fuel. 

Get in the habit of verifying color (light blue) and smelling the fuel. Jet-A smells a lot different than avgas and if you’re in the habit of checking the smell, you’ll know if it’s different. Also, while I don’t recommend making a habit of touching leaded fuel, avgas will evaporate quickly from your hands leaving them an ashy dry. Jet-A is somewhat oily. 

Always look in your tanks. I have literally watched the lineman fuel my tanks and then check them to find he only went to just past the tabs in my F prior to a 5 hour trip. 

[Raptor05121]

I'm curious how someone was able to fit the massive duckbill spout into our small(er) opening.

[SantosDumont]

Some random pilot says that his plane is out on the ramp somewhere and he needs JET-A.  Maybe it's this one?

  

The color of death.

That doesn't look quite like 100LL

 

Did you know it takes a loooooong time to drain 90 GAL of contaminated fuel?

 

Sample after draining a few buckets of fuel.

 

 

After flushing all the tanks... that's what 100LL is supposed to look like!

 

[DualRatedFlyer]

how do you keep fuel coming out of the wing sump port?

[ArtVandelay]

how do you keep fuel coming out of the wing sump port?

Probably unscrewed it.

[Marauder]

how do you keep fuel coming out of the wing sump port?

When you unscrew them, the river flows... Found that out during the CiES installation.


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[1964-M20E]

With all that fuel flowing around I'd be careful with those flames off the nose. 

 

Glad you got it sorted out.

 

 

[jaylw314]

On ‎7‎/‎28‎/‎2018 at 11:52 PM, SantosDumont said:

I agree. In this case though I didn’t request any fuel, they went out and fueled the wrong plane

 Yikes!

I've seen locking fuel caps, but I'm guessing you can't use them in our planes.  It'd be nice if there was some way to secure the fuel cap.  Maybe those silicone bowl lids with the words "HANDS OFF!" written on them?

[EricJ]

8 hours ago, DualRatedFlyer said:

how do you keep fuel coming out of the wing sump port?

 

8 hours ago, teejayevans said:

Probably unscrewed it.

Yup.   I had a sticky sump drain and Rich @N201MKTurbo took it out to clean it while I sat under the wing with my thumb plugging the hole.   They screw out pretty easily if they're not corroded, which is probably a good reason to take them out once in a while.

When I was purchasing my airplane it got a large amount of water contamination during a storm.   The ferry pilots that the AOPA sent up to move it discovered it and the IA that was taking care of the airplane broke the sump plug removing it to drain the water.   I hear that was a pretty fun time.   The ferry pilots kinda passed on flying it back.