Fuel
Close Call for Falcon with DEF-contaminated Fuel
For the second time in a year, accidental mixing of Jet A with diesel exhaust fluid has resulted in potentially deadly damage to business aircraft
For the third consecutive year, more than half of the FBO respondents in Aviation Business Strategies Group (ABSG) annual survey noted year-over-year increases in fuel sales. That tallies with business aviation flight activity numbers from Argus TRAQPak, which showed monthly flight activity increased incrementally year-over-year in 2018, with a slight softening towards the end of the year.
For the third consecutive year, more than half of the FBO respondents in Aviation Business Strategies Group (ABSG) annual survey noted year-over-year increases in fuel sales. That tallies with business aviation flight activity numbers from Argus TRAQPak, which showed monthly flight activity increased incrementally year-over-year in 2018, with a slight softening towards the end of the year.

Another mishap involving jet-A contaminated by diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) occurred on August 14 when a Fair Wind Air Charter-operated Dassault Falcon 900EX was forced to make an emergency return to Miami Opa-Locka Airport after suffering failure of two of its three engines. DEF, a urea-based solution that lowers nitrogen oxide pollutants in diesel exhaust, is not approved for use in jet fuel. When the two are accidentally mixed, crystals form, causing potentially catastrophic clogs throughout aircraft fuel systems.


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