Shell - worth avoiding for a while ?

[DaveK]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/7331296.stm

I know its aircraft fuel but they do make pet and derv at stanlowe and I can remember trouble with their petrol around 12 years ago.

 

[DieselE]

If you get a problem with fuel in your car you can pull to the side of the road and give Mobilo a call. Not so easy if you're at 30,000ft

 

[st4]

Jets use Kerosene as fuel, and the refinement processes used will be different that we use for our diesel cars. I wouldn't worry TBH

 

[st4]

If you get a problem with fuel in your car you can pull to the side of the road and give Mobilo a call. Not so easy if you're at 30,000ft

Thats why I hate flying.

 

[nickcc101]

The usual problem with Aviation fuel (Jet A1) is water. Before the fuel is loaded onto delivery vehicles it passes through a system of water filter/seperators which have a differential pressure gauge and indicates a difference between product pressure in and product pressure out. If the pressure differential rises the filters are becoming blocked and if the pressure falls your filters are passing. Fuel is checked for water above 5 parts per million at various stages before delivery to the Airport and if water were to be present this load would be rejected. Manchester A/P has a joint storage facility where fuel is supplied by the three major oil companys. If one company has a problem then the other companys can cover the shortfall (out of the main charter season). The reason i give this explanation is that at no time would any Aircraft have been at risk from contaminated fuel. All the Major oil companys take extreme care when supplying fuel to Airports/Aircraft.

 

[BTB 500]

Yup if you read the story carefully it was Shell who told the airport that there was a problem at the refinery so they wouldn't be able to supply fuel for a short period. It wasn't the case that off-spec. fuel was delivered.

 

[6CylinderMerc]

Yes, it's not so much the fact that the water is in the fuel, it's the fact that the water will turn to ice at altitude & then you have a serious problem. Part of the storage procedure with Jet-A1 is daily moisture content checks.