Incident Overview
Description
The Embraer EMB-110C Bandeirante was damaged beyond repair in a forced landing near Montevideo, Uruguay. The first flight of the day for the aircraft was a round trip from Montevideo to Salto. On departure the aircraft had 1600 lbs of fuel on board. The flight crew was supposed to refuel to 1500 lbs at Salto. However, the crew they not set the fuel totaliser to 0 before departure and did not know how much fuel had been consumed. It was estimated that the fuel consumed was 700 lbs. so the captain ordered 360 litres to be refuelled, which according to his calculations was the equivalent of 700 lbs. This calculation was erroneous, since the equivalent of 360 litres is 638 lbs. The return leg was uneventful and after landing the fuel totalizer for this leg read 740 lbs. The crew that was planning to carry out the next flight, a return service to Durazno, discussed the amount of fuel at the TAMU office at Montevideo-Carrasco Airport. In that informal conversation he misunderstood that in Salto the aircraft was refueled to 1700 lbs. Subtracting what was consumed on the last leg, gave an incorrect assumption that 960 lbs of fuel remained . The flight from Montevideo to Durazno was normal and to expedite the disembarkation and embarkation of passengers, this was accomplished with engines running. After takeoff from Durazno the aircraft climbed to the cruising altitude of flight level 050. Entering the Carrasco TMA, approximately 21 nautical miles from the VOR, engine no. 2 cut out. The pilot maintained control of the aircraft and decided to head for the Montevideo-?ngel S. Adami Airport, a general aviation airfield. A cross-feed procedure was performed, but immediately engine no. 1 shut down as well and a forced landing was imminent. The crew realised that it was impossible to land on a local road and put the aircraft down in a fruit plantation. The aircraft was destroyed and all 21 on board suffered minor injuries. The following can be deduced from the analysis of the factors: Main Cause Human Factor. Secondary Cause Material Factor
Primary Cause
Flawed Fuel Consumption Calculation and Misunderstanding of Fuel LevelsFlawed Fuel Consumption Calculation and Misunderstanding of Fuel LevelsShare on:
