Water-contaminated fuel was the cause of 2023 plane crash that the Transportation Safety Board of Canada says “substantially damaged” the the aircraft.
On Dec. 18, 2023, a Wilderness Seaplanes Ltd. Grumman G-21A Goose amphibious aircraft left Bella Bella to Port Hardy with one pilot and four passengers. Before departure, the plane was refuelled from a fuel drum, but experienced a dual engine failure shortly after take-off, and was unable to maintain altitude. The pilot transmitted a Mayday call over the radio, and the plane crashed into a forested area. The pilot and passengers were able to exit the plane, and made their way to a nearby road where they were picked up and taken to hospital by a passing vehicle.
All of the occupants received minor injuries.
The TSB said in their report that this investigation “highlights importance of taking necessary precautions when fuelling aircraft from drums,” adding that “Because it was assumed that the task was simple and that pilots would have prior experience, training or clear procedures for drum fuelling were not provided.”
The fuel in question was stored in an upright drum, which is against Transport Canada’s fuel drum storage guidelines. The inadvertent mistake likely allowed water to enter and contaminate the fuel, the report says. Also, safeguards like filters and water detection paste were not used.
“Fuel sampling was only required during daily inspections, and its omission had become normalized. These gaps in storage, handling, and inspection created conditions for contaminated fuel to enter the aircraft’s system, ultimately leading to the loss of engine power and the forced landing,” the report says.
After the incident, Wilderness Seaplanes Ltd. equipped all similar aircraft with a clear container to make one-person sampling easier from the cockpit. The operator also made it mandatory to collect and inspect a fuel sample after fuelling aircraft from any source other than a fuel truck or fuel tanks at two specified locations.”