Post by nzompilot on Jun 13, 2008 22:40:27 GMT 12
Pilot discovers fuel theft before takeoff
The Dominion Post | Friday, 13 June 2008
Thieves siphoned 100 litres of aviation fuel from a small plane parked on the tarmac at Paraparaumu Airport, with the pilot only becoming aware of the theft just before takeoff.
The culprit scaled a security fence to gain access to the single-engine plane owned by air2there.
The theft was detected when a pilot doing a routine inspection noticed the fuel caps were not secured properly and saw fuel splattered on the ground.
Senior Sergeant Alasdair McMillan said it was the first theft of this kind investigated by Kapiti police, and followed the theft of 100 litres of petrol from a petrol tanker at Waikanae Golf Club 10 days ago.
Airport manager Richard Baldwin said interference with an aircraft was potentially dangerous. "The concern is not so much taking the economic loss but the safety implications of interfering with the aircraft.
"Avgas has a high lead content so when they suck it out they expose themselves to lead poisoning. Modern cars are not designed to cope with this fuel so they run the risk of stuffing their cars."
The 100 litres of aviation fuel was worth just under $200, after a price rise last week equating to a 20 per cent increase in the past month and a more than 100 per cent increase in the past year.
Helipro owner Rick Lucas, who runs a helicopter training school at the airfield, said the theft raised safety issues of not only someone tampering with the plane, but also the potential for someone to fly an aircraft, "thinking they have 'x' amount of fuel when they have 'y'."
"It should never happen with the pre-flight procedures but that does not mean it could not happen."
Source
The Dominion Post | Friday, 13 June 2008
Thieves siphoned 100 litres of aviation fuel from a small plane parked on the tarmac at Paraparaumu Airport, with the pilot only becoming aware of the theft just before takeoff.
The culprit scaled a security fence to gain access to the single-engine plane owned by air2there.
The theft was detected when a pilot doing a routine inspection noticed the fuel caps were not secured properly and saw fuel splattered on the ground.
Senior Sergeant Alasdair McMillan said it was the first theft of this kind investigated by Kapiti police, and followed the theft of 100 litres of petrol from a petrol tanker at Waikanae Golf Club 10 days ago.
Airport manager Richard Baldwin said interference with an aircraft was potentially dangerous. "The concern is not so much taking the economic loss but the safety implications of interfering with the aircraft.
"Avgas has a high lead content so when they suck it out they expose themselves to lead poisoning. Modern cars are not designed to cope with this fuel so they run the risk of stuffing their cars."
The 100 litres of aviation fuel was worth just under $200, after a price rise last week equating to a 20 per cent increase in the past month and a more than 100 per cent increase in the past year.
Helipro owner Rick Lucas, who runs a helicopter training school at the airfield, said the theft raised safety issues of not only someone tampering with the plane, but also the potential for someone to fly an aircraft, "thinking they have 'x' amount of fuel when they have 'y'."
"It should never happen with the pre-flight procedures but that does not mean it could not happen."
Source
