Fueling with fwd door open?

[Knob]

Anybody know where in the regs it talks about refueling with pax onboard, and does the door have to remain open? Thanx

 

[Kaman]

Can't qoute it chapter and verse, but it's a requirment at my shop to leave the airstair open if we are fueling. We also won't fuel the left side while loading passengers.


Regards,

ex-Navy Rotorhead

 

[ERfly]

If you're fueling an aircraft with passengers on board, you must have a floor level exit open and a means to exit the aircraft, i.e. stairs or jetway. Also the seat belt sign must be off and the no smoking sign must be on.

 

[91100 100 set]

I believe my current employer requires the door to be open ifpassengers are on board during fueling. I really oughta look thatup! I do know that at my former employer, the policy changed backand forth more than once (with a clause for inclement weather I think),depending on who was running the FSDO...

 

[rightrudder]

My company used to require that the door remain open, but that recently changed and now it is at Captains discretion.

 

[HawkDrvr]

I really don't understand the point. Does it really take that long to close the door. How much time are we talking about saving here, for crying out loud people...

 

[Mesabi Miner]

At Mesaba, the door must be open on the Saab during refueling. During O2 servicing, no pax may be on board. But they can jack the bird up and change any tire while boarding and with a full boat of pax!

MM

 

[rattler]

If you're fueling an aircraft with passengers on board, you must have a floor level exit open and a means to exit the aircraft, i.e. stairs or jetway. Also the seat belt sign must be off and the no smoking sign must be on.

Add to that "A crewmember trained in evacuation proceedures must be on board."

 

[tarp]

I think the specific verbage will be in your Ops Specs.

If you are looking for the general rule in 14 CFR:

§ 121.570 Airplane evacuation capability.

(b) Each certificate holder shall ensure that, at all times passengers are on board prior to airplane movement on the surface, at least one floor-level exit provides for the egress of passengers through normal or emergency means.

Since you can't move with a fuel hose connected, it's kind of hard to justify closing the door and precluding an emergency evacuation with thousands of lbs of Jet-A being actively pumped into the aircraft.

Ergo, fueling the airplane is the MOST obvious need for leaving a door open for evacuation. But 121.570 says that if pax are on board prior to taxi, then the door should be open for ANY emergency and hence rapid evacuation.

If those folks in row 1 in the CRJ think the curtain isn't keeping them warm enough in Albany in January, they should think about row 8 next time. Nobody thinks about safety when it's a "comfort" issue, but if that cold January air causes a spark during refueling, you can bet your bottom dollar that those same passengers will sue the pants off you if that door is closed.

 

[NRHPilot]

Massport at BOS (at least did) say no enplaning during fueling, but OK to deplane. So some local laws may be more strict than your Company Op Specs.

 

[pilotmyf]

Signature has many contracts to refuels for airlines, when I worked there, policy was to fuel with the main cabin door open, or have a firetruck standing by.

 

[Kaman]

Hello,

Coming from a military background it has taken some adjustment to how things are done in the 121 world. Fortunatley, I had some 135 single-pilot 135 freight in between and some instruction to ease the transition. Fuelling with the main cabin door open makes perfect sense from a safety issue, and having at least one crewmember on board also. At the same time I have also found that the FAA seems to emphasize the manutae during ramp checks when they should spend more time watching the big picture i.e., maintenance, training and standardization.
One of my biggest pet peeves isn't fuelling, however, because I can exercise some control over that evolution. What gets me is the amount of FOD I see on the air carrier gate areas. On more than one instance I have found so-called "real" FOD (screws, zipper pull tags, bolts, squished pop cans, etc...). Perhaps my FOD awareness is more than most because of 20 years in Naval Aviation and I have personally seen three nasty FOD incidents on an aircraft carrier. FOD awareness during preflight/postflight isn't highlighted enough during either training or day-to-day operations. This is just my opinion, but the military found a real savings in lost man-hours due to injury and damage to equipment by having an aggressive FOD/tool control program. Just my opinion, but I think just by raising awareness alone could probably save the airlines some money.

Regards,

ex-Navy Rotorhead