Sequence of events
At about 1659 Central Standard Time, on 29 November 2004, the right engine of an Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronutica, E110-P1 Banderiante, failed during the landing approach. The aircraft, registered VH-BWC, was being operated on a charter flight from Bathurst Island to Darwin, NT, with two crew1 and 18 passengers.
The air traffic controller cleared the pilot to track via Lee Point for a right base for runway 29. The pilot reported that during the approach, about 6 NM from Darwin, he noticed that the right fuel pump warning light was flashing. Shortly after, the left fuel pump light flashed and he noticed that the fuel gauges were indicating empty. The pilot informed the controller that an engine was shutting down and requested and received a clearance to land on runway 18, which had about 5 kts downwind component. During the landing roll, the left engine also failed and both main landing gear tyres were damaged due to excessive brake application. There was no other damage and none of the occupants were injured.
The aircraft's fuel tanks were drained during the investigation, and were each found to contain about 3L of fuel. The aircraft's trip record sheet indicated that the fuel remaining prior to the last refuelling was 620 lbs and that 180 lbs had been added prior to the first flight of the day.2
The planned departure time from Darwin for the flight to Bathurst Island was 1600. At about 1500, the pilot ordered 450 lbs of fuel for the aircraft. The pilot held senior management responsibilities in the company and had been heavily distracted by those duties until after the planned departure time. He subsequently departed for Bathurst Island at 1610. The refueller was delayed and did not arrive at the operator's apron until after the aircraft had departed.
The pilot subsequently did not check the fuel quantity prior to departing from Darwin for Bathurst Island, and assumed that it had been refuelled. At the time of the incident the total fuel consumed since the last refuelling was 835 lbs.
The investigation found that the pilot in command omitted vital fuel quantity checks prior to departure from Darwin and again at Bathurst Island. The operator did not have a procedure to cross reference and verify that the required quantity of fuel had been added. The investigation determined that the lack of fuel verification procedures to confirm that the required fuel had been added, and the pilot's attention being diverted to management tasks, together contributed to this fuel exhaustion occurrence. The Bureau classified the occurrence as a serious incident due to the potential for a much worse outcome had the exhaustion occurred any earlier.
- The crew comprised a pilot in command and a flight attendant.
- The Bandeirante's fuel system records fuel quantity and usage in pounds (lbs). Fuel is ordered in litres. One litre of Jet A-1 fuel normally weighs 1.72 lbs, depending on the density of the fuel on the day.