Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003, 2024). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Kerry Lynch

Recent incidents involving diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) contamination underscore&nbsp;the “very real threat” such events pose and the need for increased training, the National Air Transportation Association said.

 


The latest contamination occurred earlier this month, resulting in loss of power in the engines of two Cessna Citation 550s. An FBO at Punta Gorda Airport in Florida had fueled the aircraft. Officials believe&nbsp;that an icing-inhibitor injective additive had possibly been cross-contaminated with DEF.

 


This was the third time in less than two years such an event has occurred, NATA noted, adding in all three cases multiple inflight engine failures occurred with possible significant damage to the fuel systems and engines.

 


After a 2017 contamination incident, NATA created a free DEF Contamination Prevention training course. “This most recent incident, however, highlights yet again, just how serious the DEF contamination risk is, and how it is still a very real threat,” the association said. “FBOs and aircraft operators must be diligent in ensuring that staffs&nbsp;are not only properly trained, but that company policies and procedures used to prevent DEF contamination are being followed.”

 


While a review of the most recent contamination is still ongoing, the earlier incidents involved an inadvertent addition of DEF into the fuel truck’s fuel system icing inhibitor (FSII) storage tank and then injected into the fuel.

 


DEF, a clear liquid, is used to reduce emissions of modern diesel engines, but is designed for use only in vehicles produced since 2010 and equipped with selective catalytic reduction systems. When combined with jet fuel, NATA said, DEF forms crystalline deposits in the fuel system. This puts the aircraft at risk for an in-flight engine failure.

 


NATA encouraged fuel providers to read <a href="https://www.nata.aero/assets/Site_18/files/GIA/Diesel-Exhaust-Fluid-DEF-guidance-letter-to-sponsors-10-29-18%20(2).pdf">the FAA’s guidance</a> on the inadvertent use of DEF instead of FSII and undergo training for safe handling. NATA’s training course recommends storing&nbsp;DEF and FSII in separate, locked locations using separately&nbsp;marked keys. Staff members should be trained on their locations and differences between packaging and labeling, while only trained personnel should handle DEF, it said.

News and information on safety procedures and concerns.

NATA Encourages Training To Guard Against DEF Risks

Three incidents of contamination highlight the threats of DEF contamination, the association said.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Amy Wilder

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

Altitude and course deviation, traffic proximity remain top categories

ACSF Data Shows Stable Bizav Risk Amid 2026 Pressures

News and issues relating to international air transport and cargo carriers, national airlines and regional airlines, including aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

Essential news and analysis on the defense aerospace business. Your trusted source for new and ongoing programs and requirements in military aircraft (manned and unmanned), engines, avionics, weapons and associated systems, including ground-based air defense.

Aircraft remained within separation guidance but neared each other after the presidential helicopter was unable to alert ATC

Faulty Comms Preceded Marine One/Envoy Close Call

Graham leaving agency within months of confirmation to another term

NTSB Vice Chair Michael Graham To Retire October 2

Stuart “Kipp” Lau

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

UK CAA concerned over rise in unstable approaches continuing to land

AINsight: Go-arounds Are a Normal and Expected Outcome

News about significant aircraft accidents and information from accident reports.

News and issues regarding all manner of civil and military rotorcraft and their powerplants, including helicopters, tilt rotors and unmanned air vehicles.

Helicopters more than twice as vulnerable to loss of visual reference accidents than airplanes

TSB: Rotorcraft More Prone To Loss-of-visual-reference Accidents

Charlotte Bailey

News about environmental issues relating to aircraft operations, including noise issues, emissisions, and regulations. See Fuel for biofuel.

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

More In Safety

ACSF Data Shows Stable Bizav Risk Amid 2026 Pressures

Altitude and course deviation, traffic proximity remain top categories

Faulty Comms Preceded Marine One/Envoy Close Call

Aircraft remained within separation guidance but neared each other after the presidential helicopter was unable to alert ATC

NTSB Vice Chair Michael Graham To Retire October 2

Graham leaving agency within months of confirmation to another term

AINsight: Go-arounds Are a Normal and Expected Outcome

UK CAA concerned over rise in unstable approaches continuing to land

TSB: Rotorcraft More Prone To Loss-of-visual-reference Accidents

Helicopters more than twice as vulnerable to loss of visual reference accidents than airplanes

EASA: Atmospheric Icing Insufficiently Understood

European air safety agency calls for more comprehensive studies into phenomenon

Embry-Riddle Introduces ‘Safer Skies’ Video Podcasts

First episode features three-time space shuttle veteranJanet Kavandi

Li-ion Thermal Runaways on the Rise in Aircraft Cabins

Numbers are rising and the risk of a serious incident is increasing

AIN Products

SUBSCRIPTIONS

RESOURCES

ABOUT AIN