Fedex MD11 near Budapest on Mar 23rd 2010, suspected fuel leak
Last Update: May 21, 2014 / 17:20:03 GMT/Zulu time
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Mar 23, 2010
Classification
Incident
Cause
Suspected fuel leak
Airline
Fedex
Departure
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Destination
Paris Orly, France
Aircraft Registration
N612FE
Aircraft Type
McDonnell Douglas MD-11
ICAO Type Designator
MD11
Maintenance engineers identified a faulty fuel quantity indicator.
The NTSB reported on Mar 24th 2010 - giving the registration of the aircraft erroneously as N592FE, which overflew Hungary 2 hours later and landed in Paris Charles de Gaulle -, that the crew received a low fuel indication, declared emergency and diverted to Budapest. On the ground the fuel indication returned to normal. The airplane did not carry hazardeous goods. The Hungarian TSB have initiated an investigation.
The Hungarian TSB reported on Apr 5th 2010, that the airplane - reporting N612FE - suffered the failure of the fuel quantity indicator and performed an overweight landing to runway 31R leading to overheated brakes. Fire services cooled the brakes.
On May 21st 2014 the Hungarian TSB released their final report in Hungarian concluding the probable cause of the occurrence was:
a technical failure of the fuel quantity indicator.
The actions by the crew were appropriate on the basis of the information available. There was no way to not divert given the phase of flight and symptoms when the erroneous data were displayed.
The TSB reported that the aircraft was enroute about 110nm from Budapest when the crew received a low fuel alert and the fuel gauges indicated 15,800 lbs of fuel remaining when according to flight plan they still should have had 60,000 lbs of fuel. The crew worked the related checklists and attempted to rearrange the fuel system in order to restore the fuel quantity indication, however, without change to the indications. The crew therefore declared Mayday and diverted to Budapest. After landing, while taxiing to the apron, the fuel quantity indications slowly returned to normal finally indicating 60,000 lbs of fuel available. A manual cross check confirmed 60,000 lbs on board. The aircraft thus landed about 24,000 lbs over maximum landing weight. The crew did note an overweight landing in the technical log book of the aircraft.
Examination revealed the #2 fuel quantity sensor had produced false indications due to a faulty signal. The sensor was disabled according to minimum equipment list and the aircraft released to service under minimum equipment list requirements. The fuel sensor was further analysed at the airline's maintenance base in Memphis,TN (USA) where faults in the electrical network were identified and corrected.
The TSB analysed that the actions by the crew were appropriate. With the information available the crew had no possibility to verify the actual fuel quantity on board and thus could not establish that the sensor was faulty and could not rule out a possible fuel leak.
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Mar 23, 2010
Classification
Incident
Cause
Suspected fuel leak
Airline
Fedex
Departure
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Destination
Paris Orly, France
Aircraft Registration
N612FE
Aircraft Type
McDonnell Douglas MD-11
ICAO Type Designator
MD11
This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
Article source
You can read 2 more free articles without a subscription.
Subscribe now and continue reading without any limits!
Read unlimited articles and receive our daily update briefing. Gain better insights into what is happening in commercial aviation safety.
Send tip
Support AeroInside by sending a small tip amount.
Related articles
Fedex AT72 at Memphis on May 5th 2023, runway excursion on landing
A Fedex Federal Express Avions de Transport Regional ATR-72-202 freighter on behalf of Mountain Air Cargo, registration N820FX performing flight…
Fedex A306 near Indianapolis on May 7th 2023, hydraulic problems
A Fedex Federal Express Airbus A300-600, registration N743FD performing freight flight FX-739 from Memphis,TN (USA) to Columbus Rickenbacher,OH (USA)…
Fedex A306 at Edmonton on Apr 13th 2023, slat failure
A Fedex Federal Express Airbus A300-600, registration N685FE performing flight FX-120 from Memphis,TN (USA) to Edmonton,AB (Canada) with 2 crew, was…
Fedex B752 at Memphis on Mar 30th 2023, bird strike cracks windshield
A Fedex Federal Express Boeing 757-200 freighter, registration N795FD performing flight FX-406 from Sacramento,CA to Memphis,TN (USA) with 2 crew,…
Fedex B763 and Southwest B737 at Austin on Feb 4th 2023, loss of separation on runway resolved by go around
A Fedex Federal Express Boeing 767-300, registration N297FE performing flight FX-1432 from Memphis,TN to Austin,TX (USA), was on final for a CATIII…
Newest articles
El Al B788 at Boston on May 28th 2023, tyre damage, steering failure, possibly hard landing
An El Al Boeing 787-8, registration 4X-ERB performing flight LY-15 from Tel Aviv (Israel) to Boston,MA (USA), landed on Boston's runway 22L and was…
Egypt B738 at Jeddah on May 28th 2023, tyre damage on landing
An Egypt Air Boeing 737-800, registration SU-GEM performing flight MS-643 from Cairo (Egypt) to Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), landed on Jeddah's runway 16R…
Subscribe today
Are you researching aviation incidents? Get access to AeroInside Insights, unlimited read access and receive the daily newsletter.
Pick your plan and subscribePartner

A new way to document and demonstrate airworthiness compliance and aircraft value. Find out more.

ELITE Simulation Solutions is a leading global provider of Flight Simulation Training Devices, IFR training software as well as flight controls and related services. Find out more.
SafetyScan Pro provides streamlined access to thousands of aviation accident reports. Tailored for your safety management efforts. Book your demo today
AeroInside Blog
Popular aircraft
Airbus A320Boeing 737-800
Boeing 737-800 MAX
Popular airlines
American AirlinesUnited
Delta
Air Canada
Lufthansa
British Airways