Fuel Contamination: Increasing awareness on factors that lead to jet fuel contamination

By Joe Escobar

Millions of gallons of jet fuel are put into turbine-powered aircraft every day. One of the things that operators try to ensure is that their fuel is free from contamination. Contaminated fuel can cause significant damage to the aircraft and engine. Damage can range from fuel system corrosion, clogging of fuel filtration components, failure of aircraft fuel system instrumentation, and even stopping the fuel supply to the engines during flight. But with proper procedures in place, you can help prevent contaminated fuel from causing problems to your aircraft.

Types of contamination

The three main types of contamination that we need to be aware of are:

• Water
• Particulate
• Microbial growth