Make Them Equal

Based on the crash of a Convair 580, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) just concluded: “Fuel transfer can occur if (the) airplane is operated with different fuel boost pump output pressure settings.” The airplane, owned by Air Tahoma and operated as a DHL Express cargo carrier on a flight from Memphis, Tenn., crashed about a mile short of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. The first officer was killed and the captain received minor injuries. In addition to the captain’s inadequate procedures, the NTSB noted that the airplane’s “changing handling characteristics were caused by a fuel imbalance.” The NTSB recommends that Convair 580 operators be required to set boost pump outputs to the same setting. More