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g e n e r a l a v i a t i o nContaminated fuel creates havoc in AustraliaCASA grounds 5,000 planesBy Tom BallantyneContaminated fuel has ravaged easternAustralia’s general aviation (GA) sectorwith at least 5,000 aircraft groundedand dozens of small companies facing closureamid mounting losses.At press time, the Civil Aviation Safety Authorityof Australia (CASA) disclosed the planeswould remain grounded for at least anotherweek, despite earlier hopes that a fuel safetytest might have been available quickly.CASA ordered the groundings on January10 – the second time it has taken such actionin two months – after a problem involvingcontaminated fuel from oil giant Mobil,first discovered in December, had not beenresolved.The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association(AOPA) believes the crisis could cost theindustry more than US$30 million and threaten7,000 jobs.The acting Prime Minister and TransportMinister, John Anderson, said he respected therecommendation of an independent scientificexpert, Professor David Trimm, that planes staygrounded. “We don’t want to get this wrong.The consequences could be disastrous,” saidMr Anderson.Mobil has already put together a compensationpackage. The external relationsmanager for Mobil, Ms Samantha Potts, saidthe delay in the development of a safety testfor fuel made the company’s A$15 million(US$9.75 million) compensation packageeven more important. “We totally supportthe decision that the planes stay groundeduntil everyone is satisfied we have the righttest,” she said.A CASA spokesman, Peter Gibson, describedthe contamination as possibly theworst in the world.The big airline’s jet fleets are notaffected.The fuel involved is Mobil 100/130 Avgas,used in piston-engined aircraft. Mobil producesmore than 30% of Australia’s aviationfuel and the tainted supplies come from the‘There are hardly anyaircraft left flying inthe eastern states’company’s Altona plant, near Melbourne.Hundreds of businesses throughout Australia’seastern states, from crop sprayers topilot training schools, freight operators, smallair commuter firms and charter companies,had their operations brought to a standstill.“This whole thing is so serious and thefinancial ramifications are horrendous. Thereare hardly any aircraft left flying in the easternstates,” said AOPA president Bill Hamilton.He said it could take months before allcontaminated aircraft were ready to fly again.The crisis was costing the industry A$5 million(US$3.25 million) a day, with many businessesforced to close down.The problem first arose after a light planesuffered engine failure during take off at anairfield near Melbourne. After an investigationCASA grounded aircraft and ordered ownersand operators to look for black deposits in fuelsystems as evidence of the contamination,now identified as Ethylene Di-Amine. The depositsform when the contaminant in the fuelreacts with the copper in aircraft fuel systemparts made from bronze or brass.But after thousands of aircraft had theirfuel systems drained and businesses putplanes back in the sky, problems re-surfacedearly in the New Year.CASA is working urgently with Mobil todevelop a standard field test that engineerscan use to determine if aircraft have beencontaminated. It also is urgently developingprocedures for cleaning the contaminationfrom fuel systems, but said this might takesome time.None of this helps small aviation companiesforced to meet the costs of operations.The crisis could not have come at a worsetime for crop spraying firms and farmers, whoare in the middle of the spraying season.And Victoria’s largest flying school, theRoyal Victorian Aero Club, is typical of trainingestablishments. In December club president,Peter Dwyer, estimated the cost of groundingthe fleet of 20 planes at around US$26,000.With the latest grounding that will soar intohundreds of thousands of dollars in losses,he said.52 | Orient Aviation | February 2000