I’m not a fueler, but there is a required “deadman” switch that should stop the flow of fuel if the fueler lets go of it, so my guess is there was more than one failure here.
I’m not a fueler but I’ve worked at a jet fuel tank farm, and there are E-stops everywhere. See Jet A flowing from anywhere it shouldn’t be? E-stop button; no ifs ands or buts.
Also, the e-stop closest to this fueler is certainly not the only one near them
They absolutely had it wedged. I dont see the cable and they had to go hit the emergency stop. If they had the Deadman it would've shut off in 2 seconds.
If only there were some PPE designed to protect your face. A shield if you will, for your face. You could call it a "face shield"!
I wasn't allowed to mix non-toxic, non-flammable materials without gloves and a face shield. I find it hard to believe that an impact-resistant shield and/or goggles aren't standard PPE for this. This guy almost certainly skipped A LOT of safety checks for this to happen.
right in this frame it seems like he got whacked in the face with the hose, I would expect that he got fuel in his eyes and assume in his nose and mouth also.
There is at least one other crew member working at the rear, you would think training would show everyone where the estops are or be more aware of an active emergency. Had the main fueler been incapacitated it didn't look like anyone else was going to save him
It’s laziness basically, holding the deadman switch for as long as you need to on some aircraft can be fatiguing. But I’ve fully fuelled 747s and it’s nothing that switching hands every few minutes doesn’t solve
Well he didn't die, so maybe it's just a really smart deadman switch that's filled with optimism that its operator could shut off the flow using alternate means.
Either the fueler tied off the dead man switch which is a safety hazard, and he deserves to be fired. Or the dead man switch broke along with the hose. Probably the first one, though.
I've never worked at an airport, but I've worked at a few places where the safety standards were "taught" but never followed. The work culture existed long before any one individual started working there. I'm not saying the individual was blameless, but if you really want to eliminate the problem you need to look further up the ladder. Answer the question: Why did they feel like bypassing safety standards was acceptable? Pull that thread to its end.
I agree. There’s lots of talk in this thread about how the fueled is liable and will spend time in jail.
I’m not saying he’s blameless, and freak accidents happen, but any place that would allow a hose bald enough to separate right at the single point is rotten all the way to the top.
That hose has been dragged from the plane to the reel, repeatedly, and the inspections have been pencil whipped like Kunta Fucking Kinte.
In fact, it’s almost a lucky accident, because nobody is sumping that fuel or checking the filters. God knows what’s been uploaded to the jets over time.
It’s not overly technical, but ATA 103 is a good set of standards. It may seem elementary compared to CFRs, but there are plenty of good people who make this their living. Some of them have bananas attention to detail. A few of them are on Reddit, I’d imagine.
What should also be examined is training, management, and staff culture. Shortcuts are taken lightly or even encouraged on crews that either have poor management or an otherwise disorganized culture that isn’t focused on crew safety. It’s up to managers to not only cultivate that culture but also nip it when things arise.
At the airport I work at it's the EFSO (emergency fuel shut off) system and there is an activation point within a certain distance of every fueling point at every gate. I don't know what the setup here was, but I'm assuming similar. Absolutely no reason to be spraying fuel for that long.
Modern Carter fuel nozzles have a disconnect for strainer screen access and a pressure reducing hose end control valve plus a swivel point, all possible break failure points.
More likely to be a "don't give a shit" approach of people just "doing their job". Job responsibilities of people other than some main pump operator did not include "pull that switch if fuel is leaking all over the place", so they just kept chilling.
I dunno man. I don’t see a single other person other than the other fueled at the next gate.
Say what you will about the fueler’s reaction, or the likely institutional shortcomings that could lead to this accident, but it seems wild to assume the sort of flagrant negligence you’re attributing to a whole bunch of unseen people “chilling” off screen.
This was so close to being a full on conflagration. This is also why, in many countries, passengers are instructed to not fasten their seatbelts while the aircraft is being fueled.
Looks like the hose sheared off from the fuel pressure, probably a damaged hose that should have been pulled from service. Deadman would have helped, but with the hose severed, still would have had additional spillage. Not sure if there’s valves associated with a deadman switch or if it just shuts off the pump/pto. If no check valves, that sucker would keep flowing anyway.
That hose has been dragged across the ground from the plane back to reel for a bit. I’d imagine the handles are worn flat. Wild levels of complacency led to this, not just dumdum individual fueler.
There should be a Deadman control valve, now I can't say if it fully isolates and shuts off the flow of fuel. At least on a tanker. When I release the Deadman, there is no pressure in the hose, but the PTO is running, so there is pump pressure, but no pressure at the end of the system.
I have had the hose fall while checking the nozzle screen, and the amount of fuel that spilled was single digits and cleaned with pads/speed dry. In this case, the pressure and fire hose effect should have stopped in seconds. Normally on a crj, I get around 600 liters per minute (160ish gallons per minute). So they would have sprayed about 400 liters, assuming flow rate didn't increase with the reduction in pressure. Immediately releasing the Deadman would bring this down to maybe a 100ltr spill, 26 gallons.
Uh…..this looks intentional. Despite this statement possibly being the case, even if it was multiple failures , the fueler taking a leisurely walk away with zero urgency to stop fuel, Is very suspicious
Yeah, in another posting on this, a guy said he was a feeler and basically said the only way for this to happen is if somebody ties off their dead man switch. So I’m going to guess that there will be some butt kicking going on here
I fuel aircraft daily and there are emergency shutoffS on the fuel trucks, a Deadman, and extra redundancies for this exact situation. I'm not sure I understand why he did what he did. When you're dealing with aircraft AND fuel, slow and methodical is the only approach. You should never rush or skip steps, and this guy rushed.
even more a reason why it's so crazy the casual demeanor of everyone. I get the fueler probably had fuel in his eyes but you're walking away from a active death zone that you were a part of
The 747-8 isnt great either. You have to get right up on that inboard engine and you dont have a lot of room with how much bigger they are than the 400.
Yes, this idiot who disabled the safety devices, didn't wear PPE, and didn't react appropriately could have easily gotten them all killed. If that ignited it would not have just been him that burned to death.
I'm aware that he got it in his eyes. You can and should power through that if you know there is a greater hazard. Which there was. Burning to death is way worse than burning eyes. Powering through that kind of thing is part of military training. Your body can do it. You only need the willpower and adrenaline.
Yes. And it is nowhere near as bad as 3rd degree burns.
The guy was walking around pretty slowly, and with normal body language/movement. That’s a strong indication that it wasn’t that bad. When it’s bad the natural reaction is to run to the eyewash station as quickly as possible. If it’s pretty bad, run around screaming in a panic, or falling to the ground. If it’s very bad, you are incapacitated on the ground.
As I said, this is an item part of US military training. They teach you how to use a gas mask, then you put it on and go into a gas chamber full of teargas. Not OC gas—the old school stuff that can kill someone who has a respiratory condition. The stuff police don’t use anymore, because it’s too dangerous. They then make you take the mask off so you’re exposed. It’s pretty bad, but not totally incapacitating. It gives you the experience that you can power through anything that’s lower than totally incapacitating. You just need the willpower and adrenaline. That’s important to know if you’re working in a hazardous environment.
Yah looking at the video start, they were definitely grabbing their face, so taking a bunch of fuel to the face and getting some in the eye definitely happened.
Not a refueler but read a comment from a refueler that said these things have a dead man's switch, a rope that must be pulled on continuously or the fuel stops flowing from the cart. It would appear one way for this video's events to occur would be if the refueler tied off that switch.
I'm not an expert here so I can't say for sure. Is there anything else that could explain it?
So I can't comment on US regs but I used to design these refuelling carts for Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The dead man switches were electronic and had a random release requirement. Every now and again the audible signal tells the operator to release and re-grip the switch twice, to prevent the exact situation you described. If the switch is released at any other time, it will interrupt refuelling after a slight (1s) delay and prevent the kind of continuous release from the video. While watching it I was thinking: any second now, it will automatically shut off. Aaaany second. Aaaaaaaany second now. But it just kept going.
I hope this isn't taken as a political jab, but sometimes regulations are beneficial and when well-written, can be low-cost compared to the safety benefit (high payoff) that they seem worth it.
It's sad that sometimes people forget why the safety rules came about (because they don't see those accidents happening any more, because those rules were being respected), and then people forget why we have the regulations.
Honest question here. From what you're saying I assume you're in the US, but how could this specific thing be taken as political? Aviation safety? As in, you're implying that that has become a partisan issue. How did that happen?
It’s insane that your statement is political in this climate. It’s such a straightforward logical and ethical thing yet people hate it for reasons most aren’t even aware of due to corpoganda.
The ATA 103 is the set of regulations we go by here in the USA. There is no requirement for a Deadman to have a reset timer, but a lot of the newer stuff has that feature anyway. The cart in the video just has a normal open button switch that gets activated by a paddle attached to a rope. It's possible the return spring on the paddle failed but since I don't see a rope at all in the video it's a safe assumption they just have it tied off.
Commenting on CRJ refueling incident at KDFW yesterday...
If the paddle is similar to the ones I’ve used, a quarter properly positioned will block the dead man.
The loss of pressure is not guaranteed to be detected as a failure. Say you lose the coupling, that's a couple of psi. Depending on where your sensor is located, that may not be outside the normal range. I can't remember if there was a max flow rate shut off, using the flow meter, but again your failure case may not lead to an over speed that would be out of normal bounds.
These operators have strict processes (in Europe at least) and shouldn't be bypassing the safety systems in the first place. While lessons may be learned from this specific case design wise, it screams process failure. It will be interesting to see what failed to cause the initial spray, but beyond that the operator should be able to let go of a switch and shut the system down. Minor spill, everyone goes home safe.
The number of tennis balls I've seen stuffed into dead man switches is shocking. I'm sure there are similar methods found for other types of accident prevention devices...
Yeah, there's always multiple things that have to go wrong for something like this to happen, and one of them is nearly always a lack of proper safety culture.
Many modern trains have dead man switches as well. Lessons learned through tombstones forced the safety culture to go on with trains like those in the UK (I suppose there are others, but the UK is the one I studied more regarding disaster prevention).
They have a similar type here in the US where an engineer was caught sleeping and the rocking of the cab caused him to keep inadvertently pressing the button at the required interval.
Seems like that should be universal for dead man switches. Like sure the electrical circuit will be more involved than a simple contact switch, but not by much.
Some manager somewhere demanded something happens faster or with fewer people; and the solution implemented by a worker was to cut a corner or skip a safety. It works until it doesn’t.
Nah, I've been in the industry for a long time. What you're talking about does happen in other areas (looking at you back up guide policies), but you don't save even a second by blocking a Deadman. That's just pure laziness.
Agreed. I’ve supervised people who have been caught bypassing safety procedures, and getting them to stop doing it is almost impossible without firing at least some of them to get the message across.
They always seem to have some insane personal reason for why they think they’ll be better off without it. Some people are, honestly, just stupid.
That's why modern designs need to actually confirm an action. If you just hold a switch down the entire time, that's vulnerable both to tampering, but also to someone becoming incapacitated but still holding on (cause of several major train crashes and many, many accidents with lawn equipment, etc).
I wouldn't exactly call DFW a "smaller airport," but regardless, airlines generally don't want to pay two people to do a job that could be done by one person.
There is no need for 2 people. I fueled aircraft (private jets/commerical/cargo/military) and no company that performed fueling services akin to my employer at the time required 2 people. It’s overkill. This is a perfect example of human factors at play. You can’t control or predict how someone will react under stress until shit happens.
Yes, clearly the PTO (transfer pump that activates to start pumping fuel) was still on which means the deadman was engaged which is why that single point pressure hose kept pissing. From what I can see here, this guy went to close the valve on the nozzle head while the deadman was still depressed, leading to the catastrophic failure we see. Should he have gone straight to the emergency shut off? Yes! Was he thinking straight while his face and eyes were engulfed in JET-A? No. Can ANYBODY control that? No.
More training, more SUPERVISED OJT, more stringent requirements before an operator can fuel solo. These are my recommendations.
For clarity, 8 years ramp service experience fueling and not ONCE did I experience or even hear about a single point failing like this. Just bananas all around.
Better training as in, drive the point to stop the transfer of fuel first BEFORE closing the valve on the nozzle. But you’re correct, there’s nothing anybody can do about somebody reacting under stress with fuel in their face. You can train and practice drills, but ultimately you will not know until you’re faced with a real situation. Sucks to be in this guy’s shoes for sure!
Yeah. He could have done things differently after the spill started. But he was also in a condition that he isn't thinking. And it's something you can't really prep someone for.
Now the number of issues leading up to it (Deadman? Hose tests/checks? Is he shutting the single point while under pressure/fuel flow?) there is a lot going on that isn't to any procedure. And if that was being done right, this doesn't happen.
Well, I’d bet the guy in the video won’t be bypassing the deadman’s switch again. I wouldn’t recommend every fuel person go the above training, but I’d bet it’s effective.
I've never refueled large aircraft like airliners, but speaking from a perspective of somebody that has been a refueler at a regional airport and is about to be driving fuel tankers again here real soon, I can't fathom how this guy managed to have a spill this massive.
Priority number one when there's a spill of any kind is stopping the flow. No deadman switch anywhere? No ESD anywhere? I refuse to believe a high pressure fuel line doesn't have one somewhere close to the operator.
I've been sprayed in the face with gasoline and diesel, my instant reaction was to stop the flow and immediately go for my containment kit while washing my face off.
He should have it (deadman) in his hand, squeezing it. Also, should always start pumping in slow to see if the aircraft can handle the pressure. If it can, then you increase the flow/pressure.
Well rite now only 11% of the EPA are working only in certain sectors and I believe its about the same with OSHA. I would hope this would be one of the mandatory sectors but who knows. Hell a munitions plat full of workers in Tennessee just got vaporized and OSHA is not on site yet (to my knowledge) due to the BS shutdown. Politicians arguing over spending makes a bad situations worse...
You just reminded me of the paperwork that happens when a big ass spill happens. Also the paperwork when you cross drop, drop the wrong fuel in the wrong tank.
I've never had a massive spill or a cross drop, but I've seen the binders with the paperwork that gets filled out when it does happen. Fuck everything about that.
Deadmans switch aside the dude just got a face, and depending on if he was actively breathing in at the time, a lung full, of Jet A, he is blind and in a lot of pain. I'm not gonna blame him for not sprinting to the shutoff, or even failing to get it the first time.
In his position I'd be disoriented, confused, probably on the verge of passing out, and unable to find any sort of shutoff.
That said, we can question why the deadmans switch wasn't being used properly and likely shortcut, but in his situation finding a different cutoff would be a superhuman feat right away.
What you described was exactly him. It's pretty clearly his first time dealing with something like this.
I don't know, maybe you're right. I'm speaking from a perspective of somebody that went through the gas chamber several times in the Navy and worked alongside my unit's CBRN team.
So when this almost exact same scenario happened to me, it was second nature to follow my steps and stop the flow. I had already been out of the Navy for over a decade by the time it happened to me though.
The difference is, you learned and were trained to drive through the pain to attain the goal. I did the same in the Army.
I've seen this same scenario play out with civies in the past during incidents, for them it's just a job and many don't want to be there in the first place. When something like this happens, this is the response you get.
This is probably one of the reasons many aviation companies try to hire as many veterans as possible.
My CFI told me he wasn't sure if I was one of those students that's too far on the edge of "not scared", I tried to explain to him that I'm not scared of a damn thing these days.
He went on about something in the AIM about that leading to hazardous attitudes. My response was that just sounds like whoever wrote the book doesn't know what a dumbass who's too big for his britches is, vs somebody that has already had their nerves tested in the past.
FBO fueler/Line guy here. I've never been sprayed like this guy so I can't speak for that, and we use tankers as well. Looks like he was using a hydrant truck. Anyway I would hope that there was a valve somewhere someone could close too on that truck if all else failed. Obviously he needs to get the fuel out of his eyes (we have eye wash in the trucks but I don't think that is required), but I would be yelling for help too. The guy on the lav just walks away.
That would be correct, I’m a refueler, and we do have deadman’s. It is the rope we pull to control fuel flow into the airplane. I’m watching the video still trying to figure out what happened. I think his nozzle pressure was WAY too high, it ripped off that single point and caused fuel to fly out of the hose. Now as of why the fuel wasn’t stopped, I’m not sure. It could have been a cart malfunction with the deadman system or yes he did tie off, which is never allowed and this is why.
I work at a fuel farm and from what I know, the dead man's switch is only when refilling tankers, and is on the "loading rack" where they hook up to the system to top off their tankers, this is what we call a pump truck. I believe they just have an e-stop switch, and there are plenty of them around whether it be on the truck itself or at the terminal.
My buddy used to refuel planes and he said they'd always tape quarters or something into the handle to keep it closed because otherwise you have to keep in constantly held, which can really suck for bigger airplanes. Obviously we're seeing here why that's a bad idea.
You normally have it in your hand that you squeeze to trigger the pump etc. But you can find ways to provide enough pressure so that you can not hold it.
The amount of times I’ve found fuelers rubber band those in a four month span has been nothing short of jaw dropping.
Seven. Seven times, that includes the one with 50 gallons of Jet A. Guy panicked when the valve failed, just like these guys since they didn’t properly train him the week prior on his first few days, and then left him to fend for himself.
Our superintendent of ops slapped the managers and business owner with a bunch of NOVs. And they’re no longer allowed to do fueling ops until the superintendent is completely satisfied.
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You can see fine with Jet A in your eyes. You want to get that shit out ASAP, but it doesn't burn or blind. I'm shocked this incident went down like it it did for a whole different reason though.
1st, fuel cart is operated by a Deadman switch. I didn't see a rope/cable in his hand so we got a blocked off Deadman. 2nd, nozzles should not just blow apart like that. There should be 2 filister screws with lock wire and a lock ring holding down the collar that the nozzle seats in. Unless the ferrule failed on the hose what happend shouldn't be possible unless mx, quality control, and the fueler all fucked up as a team to not notice something wrong. 3rd, it looks like he tried to hit the efso when he ran back to the cart. Given the other shit I wouldn't be shocked if the efso failed too, but hard to tell from that video. Wild shit. Its gonna take more than kitty litter and booms to clean that up, lol.
The video runs from the failure all the way until a different person actually does shut off the flow, by whatever control on the cart. Then you see the hose stop spewing.
Ah so maybe not so much losing an eye. Those lines are wide though. So volume and mass of the fuel could be enough force to hurt. No one likes getting punch in the face. Imagine if the first that did it was Jet-A based.
It's a fairly wide range for houses, but that's kind of the low end of useable pressure, and city systems can go even higher, like 60+psi. If you're immediately downstream of a good pumping station, it can be even higher at night when the grid's demand drops.
I used to work somewhere that sold water treatment/pumping/etc. stuff, and we had our own little "lab" full of filters and pumps and you name it. Some of our warehouse workers who worked overnight saw our gauges reading well over 100 psi.
I always always always recommend homeowners have a gauge on their home water supply line. I would never run a pump on my own property without a gauge at least on the outlet, and absolutely on the inlet if it's being supplied by a pressurized source (e.g. a well pump, or maybe a weak city supply). The number of people who broke their pumps because they don't understand inlet pressure limits was very high.
Hell even if he did have them at that flow amount shit is going in your eyes. But still there is usually a senior lead on the crew who knows this shit. Usually the push back guy.
Yep, was mandatory when I was working around liquid hazardous materials.
Sometimes we had to wear a face shield over the gasketed safety goggles as the first line of protection.
I mean in general, the weather, the hoses, the little switches you have to take your gloves off for....
Safety glasses wouldnt have made much difference with the failure this guy had. Would've just blown em straight off his face lol most of us where su glasses for well over half the year.
It was mentioned before too, but for sure this guy pinched the dead man somewhere and also had a failure at the nozzle.
Klein Tools makes a pair of gasketed safety goggles that are tinted sunglasses with adjustable vents so they don't fog etc. Home Depot has 'em for $30.
Not wearing them feels like not wearing a seatbelt. Almost certainly won't need it, and in some fraction of incidents that do happen it might not help all that much, but..
Would safety glasses prevent water from getting in your eyes when you're being blasted by a fire hose? No. Safety glasses wouldn't help here either. Maybe a fully closed face shield?
Would it prevent everything from getting into your eyes? No. Would it potentially prevent direct line of access from high pressure fuel to your eyes, absolutely. No PPE is perfect but it’s designed to help mitigate worse scenarios. The face shield would be better but the glasses are undoubtedly better than nothing. It may not have stopped catastrophic eye damage here. But it had a chance to and that’s always worth wearing. Similar to wearing a seatbelt in a car crash. It may not save you in a head on, but if there’s a 1% chance that it does, it’s worth wearing.
So, lessons learned: everyone should be trained of emergency stuff around their workplaces, because the only person who knew what to do was not able to do it.
I've been a fueler for two unrelated FBOs at different airports in different states. This will be a huge issue for the fuel contractor. Both places I worked had Deadman handles you had to keep squeezed in your hand to keep fuel flowing. Correct procedure was to start the flow into the aircraft and then release the Deadman to check the pump stopped, then squeeze again.
We fueled corporate jets mostly, and we're also supposed to check the aircraft shutoffs as well on certain types. Never did a CRJ, but plenty of challengers.
I worked with fuel in Alaska and have gotten diesel in my eyes more than once and it is not a good feeling. That being said I took every possible safety precaution and had back up plans for my back up plans and a radio to call for help in a moment's notice if need be. A situation like this would have been my worst nightmare and would have likely been the end of my career in fuel transportation.
Watched it again and he seemed to be fine enough to walk directly back to it to make an adjustment, look at his phone, make a call, and then finally go back again and turn it off before video cuts out. Never made it to an eyewash station. Accident sprinkled with negligence all over. This is just bad across the board.
I’m not trained on how to use the emergency shutoff switch at the gas station, but if some other customer drops a gushing nozzle on the ground I’m going to run to find one and hit it. We’re not talking about something that requires a college degree here, just a fraction of common sense.
This is completely false. There is repeated, mandated training for everyone working in that environment to receive fire safety and spill management training.
There is a fueling crew on the ground when the aircraft is at the gate. Part of their training is for situations like this where it appears that the hose connection became disconnected under pressure. There is an E-Stop (Emergency Stop) that will initiate a controlled sequence to safety stop the flow of jet fuel.
There could also be another stop located as a fixture that would cut the flow to all nearby stand (from the ground) and supposedly everyone on the ramp was told about that one.
I mean, ok - but stupid to me. Seems like one basic training that EVERYONE who will be feet on the ramp should have (Rampers, Pilots, guys delivering supplies, and the Blue Juice guy, etc) - "See that big red button that says Emergency? If there is an emergency - you MUST push it."
One would hope a spraying fuel hose would flash as an emergency - even in blue juice guy's brain.
I assumed fueler was blinded from the fuel but aviation is usually good about making big red switches and handles to indicate pull this if issue. But, my experience is just on flight deck so could be totally wrong
Most likely didn’t pay attention in training, they have shutoffs on both sides of the fuel truck. The crazy part is you’re the bad guy when you see signs of negligence and try to correct the personnel! It’s usually to avoid these things from happening in the first place.
Even watching this fully through, the amount of negligence is astounding. They are moving around like old people heading to Sunday church. They should all know how to stop the fuel. Letting the fuel continue to pour out is atrocious and creating more hazards. They really need to rethink the employment of these people if additional training does not yield better responses.
My favorite part is he takes a second to compose himself then immediately walks to the e-stop button, doesn't press it, then disappears for a minute before coming back to where he was to turn it off. Like wtf.
Guessing he tried to press the button after getting over the immediate pain of getting jet fuel in his eyes, couldn’t find it due to said fuel in eyes, got it rinsed out, and was then able to press it
They never paid attention during training and drills were canceled for time. It's the same story anytime these things happen. Complacency and accountants kill people.
The guy actually coupling thr fuel line to the aircraft also appears to have fuel in his eyes. OSHA will have a field day with this video. Its hard to hit a shutoff when your eyes are being burned and you're absorbing petrochemicals directly into your orbital and nasal mucous membranes.
Splash goggles rated for the material.
Splash protective overhear.
Review of safety training records.
Proof of competency.
So many more aspects of this for review by investigators...if they still have jobs.
Accountants generally don't make decisions. They do a bunch of sums, tell the executives that they can save x million by cutting y, and the executive decides. The people at the top are ones the buck stops with, and they are paid handsomely for that.
Not in my experience. In my experience, accountants are also gatekeepers that you have to persuade to get money flowing. Purchase orders, approvals for trainings and supplies, billable hours, hiring outside experts for training, sometimes they even hold the literal keys for consumable equipment and supplies.
The accountants don't even really do that. They literally just do the accounting. FP&A - Financial Planning & Analysis team, generally are the ones looking at the numbers and suggest making x changes to save y, etc etc
In another thread, a person claimed to be airport ground crew, and said those hoses have a dead-man's switch that you have to continuously hold down in order to keep the fuel going, and that this guy must have tied his down or else the mechanism failed on him.
Those hoses have dead man’s switches. Unless it somehow failed, it was tampered with. So obviously the contractor doing the fueling is in a world of hurt, but if it was him that tampered with it, he’ll bear some liability from the insurance and lawyer man.
it looks like the end of the hose might have hit him in the face and he might be pretty hurt looked like he had some sort of ppe on but maybe it didnt help and he tosses it off
I posted this comment already in a different subreddit:
This video does not show any evidence of the hose hitting him "square in the face"
This video isn't of high enough quality or close enough to the man to actually see, without a doubt, what happened. It's missing too many frames.
If I had to make my best guess, I'd point out that most people getting hit "square in the face" would snap their head back, at the neck, as if they were looking up suddenly. This guy moves from his chest/right shoulder/torso. Which makes it hard to believe he got hit square in the face.
But yes it's clear he gets fuel in his eyes.
If you saw a different video, where the hose hits him in the face, feel free to share the link, but this video doesn't show him getting that.
His head did snap back, the moment the video freezes his head looks like he's almost looking behind him and then it turns his entire body around and he ends up stumbling back from what appears to be some sort of impact, imo everything in this video suggests he was hit by the hose, weather in the face or chest is unclear.
ahh you may be right, hard to tell but does look like his head went from lumpy dark shape to round dark shape. does look like he may have been hit though. regardless i know nothing about this stuff but I'm sure there were at least a few ignored safety procures for this to even happen at all.
Because the guy who knows where the cutoff switch is was temporarily blinded by a face full of jetfuel, and despite what hollywood dramatics show rushing in a panic in an emergency almost always makes things worse.
There's already a jet fuel spill. Someone running and falling or hitting the wrong button is what will make it worse, not a bit more jet fuel spilling onto the tarmac. The only thing that really cost was some money.
Because it's AI. Watch the small black thing that appears on the left side of the hose. The hose appears to move it to the left, but then somehow for no reason it zips to the right all on its own!
Of course not. It’s enough for people to not give a fuck. Employees safety is very important too regardless of pay level. He obviously got injured when the fuel first started leaking
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I have watched thousands of aircraft be refueled. There was a very blatant bypass of the dead man switch. The dead man switches I have seen operated looked similar to the attached photo.
Yup. Deadman connects to the Deadman control valve. So when they release the Deadman, that valve should shut, which will stop the flow of fuel. ESD should be getting hit, which will cut the pump, or reference air to hydrant. Assuming it looks like a hydrant system, I wouldn't fault someone for hitting the full system shutoff as well
They are designed for catastrophic failures of multiple redundant systems - they cut off at the base station level, in this case the pump itself will stop in a controlled stagedown as soon as the deadmans switch is released.
In this case someone (likely the fueler) disabled it. Probably with a tie off or tennis ball.
That model card has a 2 minute timer till the deadman needs to be recycled. It’s a waste of time for a fueler to tie that deadman closed
Source: former Menzies fueler
He got it in his eyes so Why wasn’t he wearing his PPE? And if he could walk back why didn’t he turn this off faster? Why wasn’t there not a second person when this is normally a two man task?
Fire this man, and fire his supervisor. Implement new training, new or additional standards, and issue PPE. This was preventable.
Wait, really? It's supposed to be 2 people? Been flying for 10 years, the only times I've seen more than one fueler at a time were training or boredom.
Worked the flight line for 9 and a half years in the military, I (perhaps mistakenly) assumed it was industry standard. I think a strong argument could be made it should be two people if this isn’t a standard.
Yeah exactly. The argument being "here the now-blinded man had to go and turn off the fuel; what if the fuel had ignited in that time?"
Lots of people talk about how basic safety is "enough" without properly considering how a failure plays out. Here we see how it REALLY goes down, and immediately any and all safety mechanisms and procedures completely failed. All of them.
My company has a 2 person policy to prevent people hitting aircraft. They only hire/scedule enough people to fuel solo. If we had to wait for a guide nothing would ever get off the ground.
Nah I fueled in the military a couple years ago on my own bird. Definitely one person job. I've never seen two and spent over a decade flying. Ordnance ops is 2-3. Fueling is 1.
Yeah, because he is paid more to bypass the deadman. And he never rolled his eyes at procedure and briefings meant to prevent this. Because corporate and safety don't get the job.
Or he's likely paid by the hour, has safety bonuses, and was an idiot.
If it's anything like my aircraft, there's no need for eye protection. The receptacle shouldn't be able to release fuel unless it has been inserted and locked into place. It looks like the hose actually ruptured.
I don’t think you understand PPE. As an IT worker, I was required to wear safety glasses and steel toed boots at all times in our warehouse, even if nothing was actively at risk of falling on me or hitting my eye. Everyone on the ramp should have ear and eye protection at all times.
Eye protection for these types of tasks are just stronger glasses, not full on goggles. With that flow rate, it’d drench his eyes and not just be drops and splashes.
There is still a difference between getting fuel in your eyes and getting fuel blasted with high pressure in your eyes. Safety gear may not prevent the former but it can the latter.
Having been covered in crude oil while wearing full PPE, it still ended up in my eyes. The pressure of the crude was nowhere near the pressure coming out of this hose. Eye protection would do almost nothing in this scenario, whether he was wearing it or not.
There is no PPE requirement for eyes when using a coupling. Atleast there wasn’t when I did it for 8 years. What makes you think fueling is a 2 person job?
He pulls something off his head and tosses it on the ground right after getting blasted, I wonder if that was his PPE and it just couldn't stop the high pressure fuel from reaching his eyes.
I'm surprised there isn't a second person just manning the emergency off switch during fueling, that was an insanely long time to allow that much fuel to continue spilling.
He is wearing something on his head. He throws it off around 6-7 seconds. With that much pressure, I doubt even tight goggles would have protected him.
Yeah definitely some structural/procedural failures here. Unless that seal on the hose has always been foolproof in someway, hard to see how they haven't adjusted these processes before.
The nozzle looks like it is still connected and the hose separated. The worker took high pressure fuel right in the face. I doubt he could see much of anything.
The second worker didn't seem to know how to shut off the flow.
No way to tell if the appearance of a worker for a third time was worker 1, 2 or a third who knew how to shut down the flow.
One thing for sure, changes will be made so that this doesn't happen again.
When it's spraying around creating mist like that all bets are off. Not to mention the auto-ignition temperature of jet fuel is a lot lower than you'd think (lower than avgas). Look up the fueling incident in Denver with a British Airways B777 in 2001. Fueler died from the burns.
The day I learned that a lit cigarette won't light regular car gasoline on fire is the day that the movie Magic Died For Me. Like when the guys shooting at Robocop and it causes the gas to spray everywhere so he flicks the cigarette butt at the gas and there's a big explosion and RoboCop shoots him off his motorcycle and then you find out that the gas wouldn't even light on fire so lame
No they don't sorry their literally does not exist a cigarette on the planet that burns hot enough to ignite gasoline at any state. There is a German study where they tried 900 different brands of cigarettes to ignite gas vapors including blowing a whole bunch of air through the cigarette to make it hotter. Even MythBusters busted it I think they even tried to make a cigarette that burns hotter and still couldn't do it. And all that was on old cigarettes that burned hotter now we got lame "fire safe cigarettes"
Fair enough. I interpreted your phrasing of the gas wouldn't even catch on fire to mean in general, not specific to cigarettes, my bad. Because a lighter, used to light a cigarette, definitely could ignite those vapors.
Even then, kerosene like this isn't going to ignite. It needs to be sprayed in a mist and compressed with oxygen. And on a cool night like this, it won't even stay alight.
Question: Isn't aerosolized jet fuel much more flammable than the sitting liquid below its flash point? That's what causes the huge fireballs in crashes. This incident sure created a fine fuel-air mist.
I at appreciated your joke without getting all literal on you.
Of course, it will take more than a cigarette to set this off. And of course, if someone comes walking up to this incident while smoking a cigarette, should probably still be advised to extinguish it.
Letting go the deadman handle should stop the flow.
Don't even see one in the fueler's hand.
And why does it take so long for them to shut the flow manually?
Looks like the nozzle came apart at the screen inlet connection or maybe the hose end control valve that controls psi out..
As someone who worked in baggage handling, I can attest to the fact that people working in the airport ground crew can be some of the slowest and dumbest people I've had the displeasure to know.
An incident had occurred one day in which a poor sniffer dog checking bags in the bag-room (where we put bags in containers or on burrows) got one of his toe nails trapped between the conveyer belt plates. Everyone stopped and looked in shock towards the yelping dog and the handler struggling to free him. Even the guy standing right infront of the BIG RED EMERGENCY STOP BUTTON, just stood there staring. I was the only one who moved and reached out and slapped the button in front of him. When he heard me hit it, he looked at me with his shocked face and all he got from me was a VERY PISSED OF DEATH STARE.
I work on fueling equipment this guy definitely got jet fuel in his eyes that is why he walked away like he did, I'm guessing that he only had the nozzle on half of the ears when he opened the valve it blew off I am not sure why he had no Deadman switch it is possible that it was bypassed with a rubber band.
I'm not sure if this guy was new, but it doesn't look good when you have to call someone to help you turn it off. That's part of training and also back when I was a refueler every truck has a Deadman switch
This is why modern fueling equipment includes a "dead man's switch" (example) - the fueler has to keep holding/squeezing the button for the fuel to run. If there's an emergency, all they have to do is let go (which they'll likely do as a reflex anyway), and fuel stops flowing.
That’s why you need proper procedures in place. The equipment needs to be locked out during the whole time the deadman switch is bypassed. And only whoever locked it out may also remove the lockout tag again.
That’s quite standard in many industries where you need to work on some machines from time to time but also ensure that it’s safe to work on.
No silly. That individual employee disabled the deadman himself so he wouldn’t have to hold it. Holding it is annoying. This happens all the time with safety devices like that. Worker defeats the device to make the job “easier” at the expense of safety.
There is a poor safety culture at that airport and all companies involved. Dozens need to be fired.
Unless there is a reason to bypass the deadman switch during normal operation; but that just sounds like an accident waiting to happen and I’m not sure if there’s ever a good reason to. Ideally that shouldn’t be possible at all.
Some people are unfathomably lazy. I've been in the industry for nearly a decade and still can't figure out why some people think its too much work to stand there holding a rope/switch, but they do.
From what I recall most of them are a simple rope that goes to a lever on the cart or truck and some have an electric switch. I won't be surprised at all if they find a rope wrapped around something on the cart because someone didn't want to hold it.
Yeah. Looks like single point broke off from the hose. But releasing the Deadman should immediately remove pressure from the hose. Then he should have hit the ESD on the truck, which should contain it as well.
That's a bad failure. But there seems to be a few other problems as well
Frankly everyone on the ground crew should be trained in 'how to shut the fuel off' when they see a big spill starting. Every baggage handler, every fueler, the push back drivers, all of them. If you see a hose spraying fuel make it stop should be the only thought in your head.
It’s mentioned in training. At least my trainer mentioned it and I’m a generic ramp service agent. “Here’s where the emergency fuel cutoff switches are. Only use them in an emergency cause they cut off fuel to the entire concourse and it takes like an hour to get the system up and running again.”
That stench is overpowering and makes my eyes water from behind the internet. Kudos to the guy with vapor and fuel in his eyes trying to hit the E stop.
Serious question: Why is no one talking about the fire/explosion hazard in this situation? Would the fueler want to get out of the area as soon as possible to avoid becoming a catastrophic casualty?
I used to be a fueller, granted not in the states so I’m not sure what the regulations are there, but in Canada it’s legally required to have a deadman switch which immediately stops the flow of fuel if the fueller lets go of it. Is that not a thing in the US?
Having fuelled several CRJs, I know how easily the hose could come off, piece of shit aircraft when it comes to the refuelling system, but I don’t understand why the fuel kept flowing unless a deadman switch isn’t required in the states.
Definitely a thing based on the 100s of other comments here from fuelers. Near certainty that the protagonist in this video had bypassed theirs against policy.
looks like the hose itself suffered a failure, which lefy the dead man's switch attached to the plane and thus just became an open garden hose of jet fuel
while I'd have expected an emergency shutoff to have been hit sooner, remember jet fuel has a much higher flash point than gasoline. at around 100 degrees fahrenheit, it won't light with say a lighter, or a small flame. it needs to be heated and/or atomized to to ignite in the traditional fashion that we would assume if we saw say gasoline in the same fashion
I'm involved in 3 safety committees at work (first aider/fire marshal/IOSH-cert H&S).
We aren't an airport. Our job isn't really dangerous. It's a simple manufacturing warehouse, nailing stuff together.
Whenever I see anyone without ANY sort of PPE they're required to wear or seeing anything dodgy being done, that's an instant report.
No questions asked, no excuses listened to, just a quick photo taken (if possible), and a report written. I don't care if you'll get a written warning. I don't care if you get points on your licence. I don't care if you lose your job. I don't care if your family starves to death because of that. You've had ONE job, ONE simple precaution to take, ONE simple movement to do. The company didn't ask you to wear a HAZMAT suit, they told you to put an earplug/goggles/hiviz/seatbelt on. If you don't do that, that's only on you, not on me. I didn't undo your seatbelt, I didn't rip your earplugs out, I didn't take your goggles off. You did that. You alone.
I've been told once, although unofficially, that I report too many people and it causes a shitshow in the H&S office as they have to do an investigation every single time. I told them I don't care. We have rules to protect all employees, regardless of their position. If we let one thing slide, we have to let everything slide. We can't say "oh yeah, that's fine this time" to one person but not to others. The blue sign on the door states that you have to wear PPE at all times, I expect everyone to oblige. My guys, my boss, even the general manager (I've got a major bollocking for reporting him for not wearing goggles...).
Is it my job to make sure everyone obeys H&S rules? No it isn't. My job is to report them. I do that. Not because it gives me a boner, I'm not on a power-trip, but every single time we disregard a H&S rule, we're asking for trouble. Someone will get injured. Doesn't matter how small the injury is, it will happen.
I treated someone with a scratched eyelid caused by rusty a nail because he didn't wear goggles. I treated someone's busted left leg after he fell into a drainhole because he didn't look where he walked. I treated someone with glass cuts because he pulled a trailer curtain FROM the forklift and the buckle caught the window. I took people home, I took people to a hospital.
All of these happened because they couldn't be arsed to follow ONE simple rule. To wear ONE piece of PPE. To follow ONE simple line on the ground.
H&S rules are written in blood. We can't have anything flammable closer than 5 metres to buildings because buildings have burned down because of it. We have to wear anticut gloves at saw tables because people cut their fingers off. We have to wear safety goggles because people lost their eyes by a tiny piece of splinter.
I know it's a bother to to keep taking your goggles off and putting them back on every 4 hours, I know it's a bother to keep changing gloves for different tasks, and I know it's a bother to take earplugs out and putting them back in after every conversation with your colleagues/managers, but these rules are there because what's the alternative? You lose your finger, you lose your eyes, you lose your hearing. You can go from absolutely healthy to permanently disabled in a fraction of a second. Does it happen every single day? No, it doesn't. Can it though? Absolutely can.
When my boss has a day off and I have to step up to lead the unit, I don't rush them, I don't put pressure on them, I don't micromanage. All I ask is to do their jobs while following safety rules. If it takes twice as long, it takes twice as long. If it can't be done that way, it can't be done. Their safety is paramount, everything else comes after.
I've had several conversations with them about that. I don't care how long it takes as long as it's safe. I don't care that "it's been done like this for ages", if they have to put them in risk, they can't do it like that. For example, manual handling. Everything above 25kg is a 2-men job by the company's own H&S guidelines. I don't care if they can lift it on their own. I don't care if that's how they did it for the past 6 years. I don't need strong men, I need healthy men. If the guideline says it's a 2-men lift, it's going to be lifted by 2 men. If they have to wait for someone to help them lift, they'll wait. If, because of that, it makes a 2 hours job 3 hours, it will be done in 3 hours. But as much as I give them leniency and the chance to fuck around, I expect them to follow the very same set of rules that lets them fuck around. If I see them lifting a 35kg panel on their own because "it's faster this way", that's going to be a report and they know that.
I've had people doing arduous, 2-men job on their own just so the next day they couldn't even lift a hammer as they threw their backs off. I don't need that. I don't need people limping all over the unit doing absolutely nothing because they can't. I don't want to spend hours in the first aid room with them, listening to them crying about this pain or that pain if all of those pains caused by them.
I don't want to get into yet another "why do I have to wear goggles if I'm not even using a tool" argument while 2 metres from them someone else is shooting 100mm nails into something at a 130PSI...
If that's too hard to digest, they should look for another career...
He will be fired for disabling the deadman switch, and not wearing required PPE. If he's permanently injured, the company will fight the workman's comp claim/suit tooth and nail. Might even win.
I got my hand stuck in a running conveyor belt once, turns out I was the only person who knew where the emergency stop button was. Safety needs redundancy.
yeah....there are certain things that make it near impossible to react responsibly and getting gasoline in your eyes at that pressure is probably one of them.
surprised someone nearby didn't rush in, but they may not have known how that machine works anyways.
I'm not a smart person and I didn't stay in a holiday inn express last night, but wouldn't that kind of connection have an automatic seal if it was knocked loose from its endpoint?
Most fueling is done solo that I've seen in the US. And if you do have others around you they may not be from the same company. There was definitely a failure of procedures and bypass of safety measures going here. And the truck may have outright failed on top of it.
People can just work with the trucks, or have worked with them. I certainly didn't ask to be called a armchair fueler by you yet here we are. It's not that hard to get a job as a fueler either.
Apparently each of them can ignore a fire hydrant blast of jet A directly to the eyes and blindly run directly to the kill switch without being affected at all. Thank you expert redditors for your dedication and heroism
Fuck off dude, better be trained on the shut offs instead of letting a thousand gallons of fucking jet fuel spray all over the tarmac, fucking fire this dude.
I was involved in something similar doing underway replenishment on a Navy Destroyer (DDG 54). A refueling ship comes up alongside us and both of our ships are doing about 13 knots and a large probe comes over and gets inserted into our fuel receiver well the bottom hose of our fuel receiver popped off and it took about 28 seconds for the fueling ship cease fueling. All of us were washed off our feet and covered in DFM and our Damage Control teams (me) activated the AFFF station to cover the fuel but only seawater came out. I ran inside still soaked with fuel and opened up the cross connect valves and activated the aft AFFF station and got foam on deck. The risk of fire was low because it was cold as heck outside but as a junior sailor I received my first Navy Achievement Medal because of the training I had.
Only thing that makes sense is that he got hit in the face with or the hose or both. Enough self preservation to walk away from the bad thing while trying to assess your own injuries but not much else.
Read all the comments, but I don't see a clear answer to these question:
Why is the person standing there with the pump on and no way to shut it off? Don't you secure the line and then turn the pump on away from the connection point, ready to turn it off if anything fails?
I find it hard to believe that with all the safety oversight in aviation, you don't have a way to stop the pump immediately, from where you are currently standing, if the line were to rupture.
A high pressure blast of jet fuel right in the face. I'd head straight for the emergency wash station. Anyway. I'm sure the fuel is stored very cold but does it also evaporate very quickly? That nozzle was spewing for a full minute but the pool of fuel seems to reach a point where it doesn't really grow anymore.
the only injury is probably a decertification or dismissal. he walked clean tf off like it was nbd that $40,000+ worth of jet-a is all over the ramp lol
These jobs pay too little and have a high turnover so they end up attracting people with "fuck it" attitudes. Pay more and they'll attract people who appreciate the responsibility they have and wont tamper with safety devices.
So, the guy took 62s to shut off the flow of fuel. Google says pump rate for ground refueling is 200-600gpm. So, best case scenario @ 200gpm, the guy wasted 206.7 gallons. Worst case scenario @ 600gpm, it’s 620gal.
DFW AvGas is $4.50-$7.00. So, best best case = $927. Worst worst = $4,340.
I don’t know how actuaries would calculate the level of risk here with up to 600gal of fuel just laying on the tarmac for however long it was sitting until retardant was sprayed (hopefully it was).
guy likely has a detached retina or two, possible permanent blindness is one or both eyes. The loss of $4k worth of fuel is small compared to the cost of possible permanent blindness.
You see him literally walk leisurely walking over the edge of the screen, casually wiping his eyes with his shirt. He stands there for a few seconds, you can just see his head in the frame, wiping his eyes. Then he wanders back to the cart, fiddles with something, wanders back off, this time out of frame and then come back and hit the shut off. I don't think he's in that much pain or had that many injuries.
I don't think this video is what everyone thinks it is.
Yup, agreed that property damage or material loss is likely insignificant in this scenario. I hope he’s ok but also that people & companies learn from this to avoid a reputation of potentially bigger proportions.
If the nozzle is working correctly it shouldn’t spray at all. It’s a pressure nozzle end, only opens when it’s connected to a port and closes when the pressure on the other side is sufficient.
It looks like the fueler got hit in the face and couldn’t see. And as a former ramper, I know ramp guys are not trained at all on fueling. Not even where the emergency cutoff switch is. The best a ramper could do in this scenario is to watch and radio someone to send help.
Its really hard to fuck that up.
If you look closely the single point receptacle is still attached. He was messing with the clicky rings.
Also, the hose cart operator is supposed to be holding a deadman switch. All you do is let go and it stops. Which means someone was probably overriding safety procedures.
Honest question....is this just AI slop? It seems if this really happened the national news websites would be reporting on it. Also, if "yesterday" was October 11, 2025, tail number N593NN arrived at DFW at 3:40 PM CMT and left at 4:35PM CMT and this video is after dark.
Genuinely curious if anyone can actually confirm this really happened.
If you look back like two more flights, you'll see that it was at DFW from 9:30 PM on the 10th until 11AM on the 11th. I'm assuming this happened in the dark early morning and it took them until 11 to get this cleaned up and the aircraft back into service.
Oops, missed that, good catch! This still seems very suspicious to me based on how the people are reacting though. See the small black thing that appears on the left side of the hose. After the hose moves it to the left, it somehow moves by itself back to the right!
The drainage system is designed with retaining basins/tanks that capture the spill and then get vacuumed out. They hold something joke when 10-year design storm and release it slowly. I don’t know the specific specs for airports but oil-water separators are standard for gas stations, etc.
There are vacuum trucks/machines to clean large spills like this. Absorbent mats designed for smaller spills. If it’s a small spill on a hot day in full sun, might not be much clean up needed 😁
Very odd to see a single point pissing fuel while not connected, they are designed in such a way that this is supposed to be impossible, but shit breaks and shit happens.
Hope he got that stuff out of his eyes.
My very first plane to fuel was a king air with nacelle tanks that were notorious for splashing in your face with zero warning, made a bit of a mess on my uniform. This guy got a much higher flow rate blasted in his face.
Either he tied off the Deadman switch or it is faulty. The fuel should have stopped immediately when it released. The fueled maybe out of a job and fined a good amount
He just took a very unexpected sudden very high pressure blast of jet fuel to his eyes and face. He's very likely in pain and in shock, and not thinking straight or seeing very clearly.
As someone who worked the GA side of things, WHY was the pump even running on the truck before the connection to the plane was completely secure.
I was trained to connect the hose, turn and lock the connector and attach the grounding cable, then go back to the truck and turn the pump on. Not only for safety, but to be able to watch the meter to ensure you didn't overfill the amount of fuel that the pilot requested.
Seen a lot of refueling, never seen someone tie off the switch. If he hadn't tied it off, it wouldn't have happened like this and we wouldn't have had such a wild video.
Looks like someone forgot to safety wire/cotter pin the hose to SPR connector. Seen it before, usually the hose or the connector was recently swapped out and the guy doing it didn’t finishing the task. Some connections are a QD type, so if its not cotter pined just a slight amount of hand pressure will cause it to popped off. However, am really blown away at how lackadaisical everyone in the video is.
The guy fueling absolutely got fuel in his face, by my 1st response would be to run blind to the fuel shutoff, of course there should be a deadman switch being held during the fueling that would had stopped this.
The LAV servicing guy ain’t even paying attention, the n when he does see it he just casually walks back as if dumping hundreds of lbs of JET A is normal.
Refuel on the jet in the background has no idea what’s going on even though we has looking that direction during the 1st 17 seconds of the event.
well there will be a safety meeting. there should have been a Deadman switch not actuated. more than likely as I have seen a lot of fuelers have done to expedite time and how they have been trained park the truck, or as soon as you get to the point set the deadman and hook up the hose so as soon as the hose is hooked up it starts fueling and you can disconnect it when it's full wind up the hose and get back inside. instead of hooking up walking back to the point or truck and squeezing/pushing and holding the deadman switch until the plane is filled. it's what happens with poor training and complacency and when the airlines want to cut corners and rush to make more money. well now it cost them the fuel, the environmental clean up, hopefully the fueler can cover his tail because he can say that was the way he was "trained" but that will not hold much because he was not following written procedures corporate will make an example out of him. So if anyone is looking for work at DFW I am certain there are about to be several openings at a certain airline and just because you see the big name on the side of the plane, that's not the official name of the actual airline it's actually another airline that runs those planes. Just not certain which regional it might be.
Looks like the nozzle wasn’t installed correctly. Monthly we take these apart to inspect the screens inside. The other question is was the deadman bypassed? There is no reason for it to continue to pump like that. Why did it take so long to hit the Estop? Something is serious wrong with the safety culture with this fuel vendor.
Gate agent: "There will be a delay in boarding. We are not sure what the issue is or how long the delay will be. We will update you when we know anything"
Looks like he’s not wearing the proper personal protective equipment.
This should probably be a two person job at a minimum.
He’s definitely going to lose his job over this.
I remember loading and unloading hazardous materials, chemicals, and flammables. If you were injured and/or caused a significant spill due to your own failure to follow procedures then it’s your fault and depending on the size of the incident, would almost always be fired for this.
Looks like the hose blew off the coupler (the part that is still on the plane) once it was pressurized. perhaps this is due to a valvle not opening to let the fuel into the tanks. Not sure if this is an automated or manual process.
Multiple failures on the equipment resulting employee injury, emergency hazards and environmental issues - followed by a minute of confused and delayed reaction.
Jet fuel isn't as flammable as some of you may think. It takes a lot more energy to ignite than regular petrol. Of course, it is incredibly dangerous when ignited but this situation hasn't gotten to that point and there's no indication of such energy being delivered.
Guy on the other plane: Geoff always fucking things up. I’m not gonna be late AGAIN because of him. I will finish my refueling. I’m hungry and need to hit to McDonalds.
I just looked this up (but didn't cross check!) that a plane can be fueled up to 1000l/h, 1l kerosene is 0.98 USD.
Seems kind of affordable?
Does anyone have insights on the follow up cost? Cleaning? Refilling? Delay penalty (?)) Potential delays for other flights? Is stuff like that insured? By whom? Who is responsible in the end? Tank crew? Company that hired the tank crew?
crosscountry58S@reddit
I’m not a fueler, but there is a required “deadman” switch that should stop the flow of fuel if the fueler lets go of it, so my guess is there was more than one failure here.
canIkick1it@reddit
Fueler here. You’re correct
Sock_Eating_Golden@reddit
Former fueler here. Confirming accuracy.
Razz_SeriousSloth@reddit
Fueler instructor here, confirming the statements
nspy1011@reddit
Saw a YouTube video and can confirm 😊
ErgoNomicNomad@reddit
Microsoft flight simulator user with 2 hours, confirming.
nspy1011@reddit
ROFL!
Majestic-Wave-3514@reddit
Live near an airport. Can confirm.
SodamessNCO@reddit
Saw an airplane fly over my house once, I agree.
Tchaik748@reddit
I saw an airplane flying over my apartment, can confirm.
Montaire@reddit
I am an airplane, can confirm.
Fraxis_Quercus@reddit
No idea what a plain is but i've read this thread on reddit so far, can confirm.
thx997@reddit
I confirm, I read the previous comments.
FlakyLion5449@reddit
Reddit user here: everyone is lying and trying to prevent the natural evolution of sentient aircraft
Mole-NLD@reddit
AI Bot here: you're all wrong, this is a bird.
ZaxRod@reddit
It's a flat surface
Medium_Apartment_747@reddit
I'm a switch; can confirm
Even-Tradition@reddit
House builder here: can confirm
Personal_Extreme_162@reddit
Jet fuel here. I can confirm.
InnerBreath2884@reddit
Refueling hose here, can confirm.
Gall_Bladder_Pillow@reddit
Red Leader, can confirm.
OcularAwl@reddit
I occasionally fill my truck with 93. Can confirm
sirDVD12@reddit
I rode a bicycle once. Can confirm
Blak_Cobra@reddit
I have a Reddit degree, I can confirm
foolproofphilosophy@reddit
I read the comments until I got to the blue “view all comments” bar so I also agree.
BrianBash@reddit
I pylot
filter-spam@reddit
I only fly paper planes, can confirm
LonelyChampionship17@reddit
Bought a balsa glider at a drugstore, can confirm.
catspongedogpants@reddit
r/bitchimanairplane
heaintheavy@reddit
Nnnnnnnneneeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, neeeerrrrrrrrrrrrr-neeeeeeerrrr, neeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, pshhhhhhhhh, neeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
rombulow@reddit
Weirdly this is one of the few Spanish phrases I know: “soy un avion”.
doriotiger@reddit
I breathe air, confirmed
mnztr1@reddit
dead man switch confirming, since he was not dead I let 'er RIP. 🫡
ionshower@reddit
Arms out by side, making "nyeeeeeeeaaaaow" sounds, can confirm.
Foundrynut@reddit
I’ve folded paper airplanes. Can confirm
UPdrafter906@reddit
Fed lunch against my wishes.
Confirmed.
CrazySittingHorse@reddit
Leonardo Da Vinci’s early sketches of a flying contraption can confirm this.
Yunxs305@reddit
HAHAHAAHAHHAHA Majestic
IndividualEntrance89@reddit
Gta5 pilot since 2016 + a plane model collector here, can confirm
RedMacryon@reddit
Man who circular sources information here, can confirm
tomthepro@reddit
Yup. Never happens to me on flightsim
Less-Opportunity-715@reddit
Read this thread , seems legit
homer__simpsons@reddit
Not a fueler, but I can confirm this is correct based on the 3 above comments.
WheresMyCane@reddit
I concur.
Careful-Sell-9877@reddit
Fuel here, I cannot be contained
ainsley-@reddit
Fuel truck here, confirming that is factually accurate
dontbeadickdad@reddit
Fueler? Fueler?
WellIGuessSoAndYou@reddit
There are instructors? Shit I was just thrown to the wolves.
7947kiblaijon@reddit
Accuracy checker here. This is, in fact, fueling.
Burntzombies@reddit
I put gas in my regular car at a normal gas station once. Sounds legit
AdditionalMess6546@reddit
I watched this guy refill his car, can confirm
filter-spam@reddit
I watched a Shell commercial, can confirm
chupacabra_originale@reddit
I was the gas. It happened.
BFOTmt@reddit
I was the car, he was gentle putting it in, but wedged it on full blast
Baconshit@reddit
I put premium in one time.
PlaneDriver86@reddit
Jet A enthusiast, here. This is correct.
Glikbach@reddit
Jet A huffer here. Unfortunately, this is correct.
NohBalls@reddit
I’m not a fueler but I’ve worked at a jet fuel tank farm, and there are E-stops everywhere. See Jet A flowing from anywhere it shouldn’t be? E-stop button; no ifs ands or buts.
Also, the e-stop closest to this fueler is certainly not the only one near them
Majician@reddit
Guy working the drive through when fueler came through, Can vouch that he took fries with that confirmation.
Background-Car4969@reddit
So what happened he doesn't seem all that concerned...maybe the eyes full of fuel??
Gratefulzah@reddit
Does it pay well? Because I could do a better job than what I'm seeing.....
canIkick1it@reddit
28/hr
CptTurnersOpticNerve@reddit
it does not
Educational-Creme391@reddit
Pro-person, What does clean up look like? Ty
ndrsxyz@reddit
But I guess you are allowed to take a lunchbeak before you do that :D
Howzitgoin@reddit
Looks like the entire hose exploded and the connector is still inserted with some hose dangling.
ListenChance1520@reddit
Let’s just say he’s either working at a local car gas station or outside of it
UnlikelyEstimate8584@reddit
His actions look deliberate!
ThatBaseball7433@reddit
Wonder if they had it wedged open. I’m not saying I’ve seen that done, but I certainly heard some people do that.
JetA_Jedi@reddit
They absolutely had it wedged. I dont see the cable and they had to go hit the emergency stop. If they had the Deadman it would've shut off in 2 seconds.
arkham1010@reddit
I'm sure the FAA will be very interested in that.
JetA_Jedi@reddit
Thats a Part 139 and NFPA 407 violation. Airport and FAA will both come down on the fuel handler.
youtheotube2@reddit
The fuel handler was in absolutely no hurry to hit the shutoff button. Not sure what that guy was thinking
3PercentMoreInfinite@reddit
It appears he had fuel in his eyes. Not sure why he walked away without pressing it the first time though.
AltrntivInDoomWorld@reddit
Freaking racing refueling requires full gear.
Why refuelers aren't forced to at least wear a helmet with face cover?
SannoSythe@reddit
He seemed collected enough to use his phone though.
cat_prophecy@reddit
If only there were some PPE designed to protect your face. A shield if you will, for your face. You could call it a "face shield"!
I wasn't allowed to mix non-toxic, non-flammable materials without gloves and a face shield. I find it hard to believe that an impact-resistant shield and/or goggles aren't standard PPE for this. This guy almost certainly skipped A LOT of safety checks for this to happen.
Late-Objective-9218@reddit
Well if he's already fired, then that kind of explains why he doesn't care anymore
Bad_Vibes_420@reddit
right in this frame it seems like he got whacked in the face with the hose, I would expect that he got fuel in his eyes and assume in his nose and mouth also.
avtechguy@reddit
There is at least one other crew member working at the rear, you would think training would show everyone where the estops are or be more aware of an active emergency. Had the main fueler been incapacitated it didn't look like anyone else was going to save him
ConstantFar5448@reddit
Not sure if the states is the same, but wedging the deadman is a criminal offence in Canada. That fueller would be spending time behind bars.
I_DOM_UR_PATRIARCHY@reddit
Why would someone wedge it in the first place? Does it make the fuel come out faster or something?
ConstantFar5448@reddit
It’s laziness basically, holding the deadman switch for as long as you need to on some aircraft can be fatiguing. But I’ve fully fuelled 747s and it’s nothing that switching hands every few minutes doesn’t solve
tommos@reddit
If I can non-stop goon all day without my hands getting tired then a fueller can hold open the damn deadman switch for a few minutes.
Urban_Panda0696@reddit
Not sure about the penalties but having been a fueler it’s a definite no no. This will open a whole new can of worms lol
ikky75@reddit
For the fueler, what do they get out of wedging it open? How does that make the job easier?
Real_Possible9634@reddit
It’s like holding the fuel nozzle while fuelling your car. Not a difficult job, but people will find ways around fo not doing it.
the_s_d@reddit
Username checks out
bf2019@reddit
Yea I don’t doubt that. Whole bunch of people getting fired
crosscountry58S@reddit
Yes, wedged or tied. For an air carrier fueler to be doing that this day and age would be massively concerning, but it’s possible.
shaun3000@reddit
Literally happens all the freaking time.
catonmyshoulder69@reddit
Modern deadmans have to be cycled. This stops fuellers from jamming them on.
experimental1212@reddit
Well he didn't die, so maybe it's just a really smart deadman switch that's filled with optimism that its operator could shut off the flow using alternate means.
PapaVanTwee@reddit
Either the fueler tied off the dead man switch which is a safety hazard, and he deserves to be fired. Or the dead man switch broke along with the hose. Probably the first one, though.
g8z05@reddit
I've never worked at an airport, but I've worked at a few places where the safety standards were "taught" but never followed. The work culture existed long before any one individual started working there. I'm not saying the individual was blameless, but if you really want to eliminate the problem you need to look further up the ladder. Answer the question: Why did they feel like bypassing safety standards was acceptable? Pull that thread to its end.
CantDoThatOnTelevzn@reddit
I agree. There’s lots of talk in this thread about how the fueled is liable and will spend time in jail.
I’m not saying he’s blameless, and freak accidents happen, but any place that would allow a hose bald enough to separate right at the single point is rotten all the way to the top.
That hose has been dragged from the plane to the reel, repeatedly, and the inspections have been pencil whipped like Kunta Fucking Kinte.
In fact, it’s almost a lucky accident, because nobody is sumping that fuel or checking the filters. God knows what’s been uploaded to the jets over time.
cat_prophecy@reddit
It takes two to tango. I have worked with people who threatened to quit when told they needed to wear proper PPE.
cat_prophecy@reddit
It takes two to tango. I have worked with people who threatened to quit when told they needed to wear proper PPE.
Forward-Intention411@reddit
Are there this many people who fuel planes or is ChatGPT really taking off?
CantDoThatOnTelevzn@reddit
Lots of people fuel planes.
It’s not overly technical, but ATA 103 is a good set of standards. It may seem elementary compared to CFRs, but there are plenty of good people who make this their living. Some of them have bananas attention to detail. A few of them are on Reddit, I’d imagine.
Rare-Low-8945@reddit
What should also be examined is training, management, and staff culture. Shortcuts are taken lightly or even encouraged on crews that either have poor management or an otherwise disorganized culture that isn’t focused on crew safety. It’s up to managers to not only cultivate that culture but also nip it when things arise.
TommiHPunkt@reddit
the layers of management that lead to this being common practice at the company carry ar least as much responsibility
ThatBaseball7433@reddit
I don’t even see it, which tells me it is tied off/wedged open because it wasn’t with the fueler.
Dude_Nobody_Cares@reddit
There's also valve's he could have closed and an estop he could have hit immediately.
Deucer22@reddit
At the airport I work at it's the EFSO (emergency fuel shut off) system and there is an activation point within a certain distance of every fueling point at every gate. I don't know what the setup here was, but I'm assuming similar. Absolutely no reason to be spraying fuel for that long.
crosscountry58S@reddit
Yes, the shut-off switches are also a requirement.
DirkDiggler2424@reddit
Former Commercial Fueler, you would be correct
LefsaMadMuppet@reddit
Looks like it broke below the the connection, you can see part of it still on the plane.
catonmyshoulder69@reddit
Modern Carter fuel nozzles have a disconnect for strainer screen access and a pressure reducing hose end control valve plus a swivel point, all possible break failure points.
ParakeetWithTits@reddit
More likely to be a "don't give a shit" approach of people just "doing their job". Job responsibilities of people other than some main pump operator did not include "pull that switch if fuel is leaking all over the place", so they just kept chilling.
CantDoThatOnTelevzn@reddit
I dunno man. I don’t see a single other person other than the other fueled at the next gate.
Say what you will about the fueler’s reaction, or the likely institutional shortcomings that could lead to this accident, but it seems wild to assume the sort of flagrant negligence you’re attributing to a whole bunch of unseen people “chilling” off screen.
TinKicker@reddit
This was so close to being a full on conflagration. This is also why, in many countries, passengers are instructed to not fasten their seatbelts while the aircraft is being fueled.
Local_Injury81@reddit
I was thinking the same thing. Also, the interlock on the head is a massive failure if it’s open while not connected to a fuel port.
Meatball546@reddit
The connector is still attached to the port.
Local_Injury81@reddit
I see that now…that’s wild
rememberRIF@reddit
Looks like the hose sheared off from the fuel pressure, probably a damaged hose that should have been pulled from service. Deadman would have helped, but with the hose severed, still would have had additional spillage. Not sure if there’s valves associated with a deadman switch or if it just shuts off the pump/pto. If no check valves, that sucker would keep flowing anyway.
CantDoThatOnTelevzn@reddit
That hose has been dragged across the ground from the plane back to reel for a bit. I’d imagine the handles are worn flat. Wild levels of complacency led to this, not just dumdum individual fueler.
hellswaters@reddit
There should be a Deadman control valve, now I can't say if it fully isolates and shuts off the flow of fuel. At least on a tanker. When I release the Deadman, there is no pressure in the hose, but the PTO is running, so there is pump pressure, but no pressure at the end of the system.
I have had the hose fall while checking the nozzle screen, and the amount of fuel that spilled was single digits and cleaned with pads/speed dry. In this case, the pressure and fire hose effect should have stopped in seconds. Normally on a crj, I get around 600 liters per minute (160ish gallons per minute). So they would have sprayed about 400 liters, assuming flow rate didn't increase with the reduction in pressure. Immediately releasing the Deadman would bring this down to maybe a 100ltr spill, 26 gallons.
Immediate-Cheek-51@reddit
They should still have a dry break coupling to stop most of the flow unless that failed as well. Judging by the flow rate I am guessing it did.
BoKKeR111@reddit
My car dont have it either
Boogaloo4444@reddit
sounds like another person would probably be a good addition too
AFBUFFPilot@reddit
Uh…..this looks intentional. Despite this statement possibly being the case, even if it was multiple failures , the fueler taking a leisurely walk away with zero urgency to stop fuel, Is very suspicious
toohurt24@reddit
Former former fueler confirming the accuracy of the accuracy that was confirmed already, it checks out.
Metals4J@reddit
Full-fledged fueler fuel flow failure
btc909@reddit
Is it now a "bypass switch"?
Roadgoddess@reddit
Yeah, in another posting on this, a guy said he was a feeler and basically said the only way for this to happen is if somebody ties off their dead man switch. So I’m going to guess that there will be some butt kicking going on here
Zinger21@reddit
Almost certainly they will find a tennis ball stuffed into the dead man's switch or something similar disabling the accident prevention device...
EffectiveWorker8153@reddit
That’s not very typical, I’d like to make that point
Howzitgoin@reddit
The entire hose exploded. You can see part of it still dangling off the plane
neotekz@reddit
We have that shit on every fuel pumps at every gas station but not for jet fuel?
ThatDarnRosco@reddit
I was a refueller for 3 years.
Yes you have a deadman switch, unless you bypassed it or otherwise disabled it with tape or something.
So not sure the details on this one.
CanaryConsistent932@reddit
Those cheese holes lined up.
justsomeboredloner@reddit
I saw the same thing happen before, can't find the photo though...happened in Paris a few years ago.
DaddyWigwam@reddit
I fuel aircraft daily and there are emergency shutoffS on the fuel trucks, a Deadman, and extra redundancies for this exact situation. I'm not sure I understand why he did what he did. When you're dealing with aircraft AND fuel, slow and methodical is the only approach. You should never rush or skip steps, and this guy rushed.
SnooFoxes3736@reddit
Wow, never mind the kill switch on the tanker… never mind me, just out taking a stroll…
Doc88888888@reddit
This refuelling incident of a BA 777 in Denver just days before 9/11 in 2001 was quite similar, but the fuel ignited and the refueller sadly died. The report is quite chilling to read and the guy from the video is lucky it didn't play out that way!
buffalostreaker@reddit
even more a reason why it's so crazy the casual demeanor of everyone. I get the fueler probably had fuel in his eyes but you're walking away from a active death zone that you were a part of
Elios000@reddit
oof... just the right mix of low air pressure and hot day ...
hellswaters@reddit
The 777 also has it's fuel hookups at a terrible spot. The are so far inboard that you're right behind/beside the engine.
Most have the fuel a lot further outboard giving space to park and work. Not the case on a 777.
Effef@reddit
The 747-8 isnt great either. You have to get right up on that inboard engine and you dont have a lot of room with how much bigger they are than the 400.
Spib698@reddit
I love the feelers sense of urgency
1hassanbensober@reddit
I love the smell of Jet Fuel in the evening.... especially when I douse myself before I step out, can't keep the women off of me.
JeffeGonzo@reddit
I am a feul molecule, can confirm!
huhuhuhhhh@reddit
Looks like some safety procedures wernt followed.
Him and his boss are cooked
Automatic_Cattle_527@reddit
So is this why we wait to get on an airplane after the fuel is loaded? :)
CySnark@reddit
The most disturbing part is watching the person/people inside the plane walking back and forth.
fmr_AZ_PSM@reddit
Yes, this idiot who disabled the safety devices, didn't wear PPE, and didn't react appropriately could have easily gotten them all killed. If that ignited it would not have just been him that burned to death.
I'm aware that he got it in his eyes. You can and should power through that if you know there is a greater hazard. Which there was. Burning to death is way worse than burning eyes. Powering through that kind of thing is part of military training. Your body can do it. You only need the willpower and adrenaline.
chaosattractor@reddit
Have you ever had any kind of petroleum product in your eyes and nose?
fmr_AZ_PSM@reddit
Yes. And it is nowhere near as bad as 3rd degree burns.
The guy was walking around pretty slowly, and with normal body language/movement. That’s a strong indication that it wasn’t that bad. When it’s bad the natural reaction is to run to the eyewash station as quickly as possible. If it’s pretty bad, run around screaming in a panic, or falling to the ground. If it’s very bad, you are incapacitated on the ground.
As I said, this is an item part of US military training. They teach you how to use a gas mask, then you put it on and go into a gas chamber full of teargas. Not OC gas—the old school stuff that can kill someone who has a respiratory condition. The stuff police don’t use anymore, because it’s too dangerous. They then make you take the mask off so you’re exposed. It’s pretty bad, but not totally incapacitating. It gives you the experience that you can power through anything that’s lower than totally incapacitating. You just need the willpower and adrenaline. That’s important to know if you’re working in a hazardous environment.
rmkilc@reddit
It's amazing how everyone else just walks around as if nothing is happening.
AussieDaz@reddit
Why the fuck is everyone moving so slowly!?
FratStarStallion@reddit
How is someone not running to an emergency shutoff? I’m so confused
WhiskeyMikeMike@reddit
Regular ramp staff aren’t trained on how to use them and I assume the fueler couldn’t see
Dive30@reddit
He was stumbling to the eyewash station. He just took a face full of jet fuel.
Winter-Huntsman@reddit
Yah looking at the video start, they were definitely grabbing their face, so taking a bunch of fuel to the face and getting some in the eye definitely happened.
Melech333@reddit
Not a refueler but read a comment from a refueler that said these things have a dead man's switch, a rope that must be pulled on continuously or the fuel stops flowing from the cart. It would appear one way for this video's events to occur would be if the refueler tied off that switch.
I'm not an expert here so I can't say for sure. Is there anything else that could explain it?
Engineered_Red@reddit
So I can't comment on US regs but I used to design these refuelling carts for Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The dead man switches were electronic and had a random release requirement. Every now and again the audible signal tells the operator to release and re-grip the switch twice, to prevent the exact situation you described. If the switch is released at any other time, it will interrupt refuelling after a slight (1s) delay and prevent the kind of continuous release from the video. While watching it I was thinking: any second now, it will automatically shut off. Aaaany second. Aaaaaaaany second now. But it just kept going.
Melech333@reddit
I hope this isn't taken as a political jab, but sometimes regulations are beneficial and when well-written, can be low-cost compared to the safety benefit (high payoff) that they seem worth it.
It's sad that sometimes people forget why the safety rules came about (because they don't see those accidents happening any more, because those rules were being respected), and then people forget why we have the regulations.
Possible_Chicken_489@reddit
Honest question here. From what you're saying I assume you're in the US, but how could this specific thing be taken as political? Aviation safety? As in, you're implying that that has become a partisan issue. How did that happen?
Engineered_Red@reddit
Elon Musk.
anonymous62@reddit
Can you say vaccinations?
Intensityintensifies@reddit
It’s insane that your statement is political in this climate. It’s such a straightforward logical and ethical thing yet people hate it for reasons most aren’t even aware of due to corpoganda.
stone_stokes@reddit
Never tear down a fence unless you can explain in detail why it was put up in the first place.
gefahr@reddit
Chesterton?
Snatchamo@reddit
The ATA 103 is the set of regulations we go by here in the USA. There is no requirement for a Deadman to have a reset timer, but a lot of the newer stuff has that feature anyway. The cart in the video just has a normal open button switch that gets activated by a paddle attached to a rope. It's possible the return spring on the paddle failed but since I don't see a rope at all in the video it's a safe assumption they just have it tied off.
Foundrynut@reddit
Commenting on CRJ refueling incident at KDFW yesterday... If the paddle is similar to the ones I’ve used, a quarter properly positioned will block the dead man.
m71nu@reddit
Shouldn't the lack of pressure also trigger a switch off?
Engineered_Red@reddit
The loss of pressure is not guaranteed to be detected as a failure. Say you lose the coupling, that's a couple of psi. Depending on where your sensor is located, that may not be outside the normal range. I can't remember if there was a max flow rate shut off, using the flow meter, but again your failure case may not lead to an over speed that would be out of normal bounds.
These operators have strict processes (in Europe at least) and shouldn't be bypassing the safety systems in the first place. While lessons may be learned from this specific case design wise, it screams process failure. It will be interesting to see what failed to cause the initial spray, but beyond that the operator should be able to let go of a switch and shut the system down. Minor spill, everyone goes home safe.
Zinger21@reddit
The number of tennis balls I've seen stuffed into dead man switches is shocking. I'm sure there are similar methods found for other types of accident prevention devices...
Saritiel@reddit
Yeah, there's always multiple things that have to go wrong for something like this to happen, and one of them is nearly always a lack of proper safety culture.
theaviationhistorian@reddit
Many modern trains have dead man switches as well. Lessons learned through tombstones forced the safety culture to go on with trains like those in the UK (I suppose there are others, but the UK is the one I studied more regarding disaster prevention).
dinnerisbreakfast@reddit
Those can also be bypassed.
ihatemovingparts@reddit
Bypassing a dead man's device is not so easy on a UK train where the device needs to be pressed and released at a specific interval.
dinnerisbreakfast@reddit
They have a similar type here in the US where an engineer was caught sleeping and the rocking of the cab caused him to keep inadvertently pressing the button at the required interval.
yellekc@reddit
Seems like that should be universal for dead man switches. Like sure the electrical circuit will be more involved than a simple contact switch, but not by much.
Snatchamo@reddit
I've never understood it. There's not much difference in the effort required to stand there holding a rope vs standing there and not holding a rope.
jellobowlshifter@reddit
You can text faster with two thumbs than with one.
SmokeyUnicycle@reddit
Thats why you hold it with your armpit
Remember, safety first
KiBoChris@reddit
chips-icecream@reddit
Some manager somewhere demanded something happens faster or with fewer people; and the solution implemented by a worker was to cut a corner or skip a safety. It works until it doesn’t.
Capitalism and poor priorities strike again.
Snatchamo@reddit
Nah, I've been in the industry for a long time. What you're talking about does happen in other areas (looking at you back up guide policies), but you don't save even a second by blocking a Deadman. That's just pure laziness.
rob94708@reddit
Agreed. I’ve supervised people who have been caught bypassing safety procedures, and getting them to stop doing it is almost impossible without firing at least some of them to get the message across.
They always seem to have some insane personal reason for why they think they’ll be better off without it. Some people are, honestly, just stupid.
aljama1991@reddit
Yes. This is unfortunately exactly the issue, and the only solution.
ryosuccc@reddit
At the station I worked if you did that, you wouldnt work at that airport again PERIOD, they were really strict on it
SiteRelEnby@reddit
That's why modern designs need to actually confirm an action. If you just hold a switch down the entire time, that's vulnerable both to tampering, but also to someone becoming incapacitated but still holding on (cause of several major train crashes and many, many accidents with lawn equipment, etc).
the_one_jt@reddit
Yeah that could be. I was thinking they really should have a spotter but maybe at a smaller airport I’d say a dead man switch is enough.
Spotter trained at minimum to stop fuel flow and operate whatever fire processes they choose to have.
ThePurpleHyacinth@reddit
I wouldn't exactly call DFW a "smaller airport," but regardless, airlines generally don't want to pay two people to do a job that could be done by one person.
the_one_jt@reddit
I can see a need for two people, I’ll cite this video as exhibit A. lol
Serious_pOoper69@reddit
There is no need for 2 people. I fueled aircraft (private jets/commerical/cargo/military) and no company that performed fueling services akin to my employer at the time required 2 people. It’s overkill. This is a perfect example of human factors at play. You can’t control or predict how someone will react under stress until shit happens.
Yes, clearly the PTO (transfer pump that activates to start pumping fuel) was still on which means the deadman was engaged which is why that single point pressure hose kept pissing. From what I can see here, this guy went to close the valve on the nozzle head while the deadman was still depressed, leading to the catastrophic failure we see. Should he have gone straight to the emergency shut off? Yes! Was he thinking straight while his face and eyes were engulfed in JET-A? No. Can ANYBODY control that? No.
More training, more SUPERVISED OJT, more stringent requirements before an operator can fuel solo. These are my recommendations.
For clarity, 8 years ramp service experience fueling and not ONCE did I experience or even hear about a single point failing like this. Just bananas all around.
chronoserpent@reddit
So if nobody can control how they will react after getting eyefulls of fuel, how do you propose better training will solve this issue?
Serious_pOoper69@reddit
Better training as in, drive the point to stop the transfer of fuel first BEFORE closing the valve on the nozzle. But you’re correct, there’s nothing anybody can do about somebody reacting under stress with fuel in their face. You can train and practice drills, but ultimately you will not know until you’re faced with a real situation. Sucks to be in this guy’s shoes for sure!
hellswaters@reddit
Yeah. He could have done things differently after the spill started. But he was also in a condition that he isn't thinking. And it's something you can't really prep someone for.
Now the number of issues leading up to it (Deadman? Hose tests/checks? Is he shutting the single point while under pressure/fuel flow?) there is a lot going on that isn't to any procedure. And if that was being done right, this doesn't happen.
Serious_pOoper69@reddit
Exactly
seang239@reddit
Well, I’d bet the guy in the video won’t be bypassing the deadman’s switch again. I wouldn’t recommend every fuel person go the above training, but I’d bet it’s effective.
MookieFlav@reddit
These fuelers barely get paid a living wage, no way the airport contractor is going to double the manpower required.
1202burner@reddit
I've never refueled large aircraft like airliners, but speaking from a perspective of somebody that has been a refueler at a regional airport and is about to be driving fuel tankers again here real soon, I can't fathom how this guy managed to have a spill this massive.
Priority number one when there's a spill of any kind is stopping the flow. No deadman switch anywhere? No ESD anywhere? I refuse to believe a high pressure fuel line doesn't have one somewhere close to the operator.
I've been sprayed in the face with gasoline and diesel, my instant reaction was to stop the flow and immediately go for my containment kit while washing my face off.
ShootersGreenjacket@reddit
He should have it (deadman) in his hand, squeezing it. Also, should always start pumping in slow to see if the aircraft can handle the pressure. If it can, then you increase the flow/pressure.
Urban_Panda0696@reddit
lol I was just imagining the amount of reports that will need to be filed for something this size!
Salt_Company9337@reddit
Yes indeed,as well as a visit from the EPA! Augh,I don't envy them the amount of paperwork thats coming!
Fro0810@reddit
Well rite now only 11% of the EPA are working only in certain sectors and I believe its about the same with OSHA. I would hope this would be one of the mandatory sectors but who knows. Hell a munitions plat full of workers in Tennessee just got vaporized and OSHA is not on site yet (to my knowledge) due to the BS shutdown. Politicians arguing over spending makes a bad situations worse...
1202burner@reddit
Oh Jesus.
You just reminded me of the paperwork that happens when a big ass spill happens. Also the paperwork when you cross drop, drop the wrong fuel in the wrong tank.
I've never had a massive spill or a cross drop, but I've seen the binders with the paperwork that gets filled out when it does happen. Fuck everything about that.
fataldarkness@reddit
Deadmans switch aside the dude just got a face, and depending on if he was actively breathing in at the time, a lung full, of Jet A, he is blind and in a lot of pain. I'm not gonna blame him for not sprinting to the shutoff, or even failing to get it the first time.
In his position I'd be disoriented, confused, probably on the verge of passing out, and unable to find any sort of shutoff.
That said, we can question why the deadmans switch wasn't being used properly and likely shortcut, but in his situation finding a different cutoff would be a superhuman feat right away.
1202burner@reddit
What you described was exactly him. It's pretty clearly his first time dealing with something like this.
I don't know, maybe you're right. I'm speaking from a perspective of somebody that went through the gas chamber several times in the Navy and worked alongside my unit's CBRN team.
So when this almost exact same scenario happened to me, it was second nature to follow my steps and stop the flow. I had already been out of the Navy for over a decade by the time it happened to me though.
XxturboEJ20xX@reddit
The difference is, you learned and were trained to drive through the pain to attain the goal. I did the same in the Army.
I've seen this same scenario play out with civies in the past during incidents, for them it's just a job and many don't want to be there in the first place. When something like this happens, this is the response you get. This is probably one of the reasons many aviation companies try to hire as many veterans as possible.
1202burner@reddit
Lol somebody downvoted you for saying that.
My CFI told me he wasn't sure if I was one of those students that's too far on the edge of "not scared", I tried to explain to him that I'm not scared of a damn thing these days.
He went on about something in the AIM about that leading to hazardous attitudes. My response was that just sounds like whoever wrote the book doesn't know what a dumbass who's too big for his britches is, vs somebody that has already had their nerves tested in the past.
Frederf220@reddit
Good safety design doesn't rely on the injured person to do anything. They should be considered out of the loop.
Seems like this could be automatically sensed by pressure monitoring or ESD circuit condition.
DiscoverySTS1@reddit
FBO fueler/Line guy here. I've never been sprayed like this guy so I can't speak for that, and we use tankers as well. Looks like he was using a hydrant truck. Anyway I would hope that there was a valve somewhere someone could close too on that truck if all else failed. Obviously he needs to get the fuel out of his eyes (we have eye wash in the trucks but I don't think that is required), but I would be yelling for help too. The guy on the lav just walks away.
Andromeda2345@reddit
That would be correct, I’m a refueler, and we do have deadman’s. It is the rope we pull to control fuel flow into the airplane. I’m watching the video still trying to figure out what happened. I think his nozzle pressure was WAY too high, it ripped off that single point and caused fuel to fly out of the hose. Now as of why the fuel wasn’t stopped, I’m not sure. It could have been a cart malfunction with the deadman system or yes he did tie off, which is never allowed and this is why.
Doc_Hank@reddit
They also have dry-break couplers that shut flow off when there's no pressure on one side
gmkgreg@reddit
I work at a fuel farm and from what I know, the dead man's switch is only when refilling tankers, and is on the "loading rack" where they hook up to the system to top off their tankers, this is what we call a pump truck. I believe they just have an e-stop switch, and there are plenty of them around whether it be on the truck itself or at the terminal.
PastAffect3271@reddit
My buddy used to refuel planes and he said they'd always tape quarters or something into the handle to keep it closed because otherwise you have to keep in constantly held, which can really suck for bigger airplanes. Obviously we're seeing here why that's a bad idea.
ShootersGreenjacket@reddit
You normally have it in your hand that you squeeze to trigger the pump etc. But you can find ways to provide enough pressure so that you can not hold it.
youlikeblockingsodoi@reddit
Makes sense. Pretty much like a treadmill.
Allcent@reddit
The amount of times I’ve found fuelers rubber band those in a four month span has been nothing short of jaw dropping.
Seven. Seven times, that includes the one with 50 gallons of Jet A. Guy panicked when the valve failed, just like these guys since they didn’t properly train him the week prior on his first few days, and then left him to fend for himself.
Our superintendent of ops slapped the managers and business owner with a bunch of NOVs. And they’re no longer allowed to do fueling ops until the superintendent is completely satisfied.
nobodyisfreakinghome@reddit
In the eyes, up the nose, etc. he’s probably hurting.
RandomNightmar3@reddit
Right, better to have clean eyes when an explosion is about to go off.
OneLorgeHorseyDog@reddit
Take a unexpected face full of jet fuel and see how well you respond, lol
RandomNightmar3@reddit
I could get stabbed and still land the plane. You really got the wrong guy here.
CoastRegular@reddit
Ah, Denzel, I see you're getting in character for the upcoming Equalizer 4. Well played.
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jlf4774@reddit
I could parallel park in a gun battle and still not scuff a rim. I could fight 7 chihuahuas and still cook a waffle. Priorities.
Glum-Ad7761@reddit
I could walk barefoot through a pit of angry, foot biting kittens and random Lego bits scattered about….
rjorsin@reddit
Oh, you have no real life experience in anything you say?
RandomNightmar3@reddit
No mate, just 21 years flying planes. What do I know about safety and security.
LateNightMilesOBrien@reddit
You fly dick and shit, in that order
citori411@reddit
Guess you've had a lot of time to cook up fantasies then.
rjorsin@reddit
Probably not very much.
aloneinorbit@reddit
Wow dude you must be so badass lmfao. Even if you were “that guy” you certainly come off as cringe af.
Peepeepoopoobutttoot@reddit
Jet fuel is like heavy duty diesel, it needs to be compressed. Not that it’s safe, but it’s not an imminent explosion risk.
Carlentini1919@reddit
Yeah ok bot.
Snatchamo@reddit
You can see fine with Jet A in your eyes. You want to get that shit out ASAP, but it doesn't burn or blind. I'm shocked this incident went down like it it did for a whole different reason though.
1st, fuel cart is operated by a Deadman switch. I didn't see a rope/cable in his hand so we got a blocked off Deadman. 2nd, nozzles should not just blow apart like that. There should be 2 filister screws with lock wire and a lock ring holding down the collar that the nozzle seats in. Unless the ferrule failed on the hose what happend shouldn't be possible unless mx, quality control, and the fueler all fucked up as a team to not notice something wrong. 3rd, it looks like he tried to hit the efso when he ran back to the cart. Given the other shit I wouldn't be shocked if the efso failed too, but hard to tell from that video. Wild shit. Its gonna take more than kitty litter and booms to clean that up, lol.
CantDoThatOnTelevzn@reddit
It didn’t blow apart at the nozzle. Hose busted.
Bob70533457973917@reddit
The video runs from the failure all the way until a different person actually does shut off the flow, by whatever control on the cart. Then you see the hose stop spewing.
Snatchamo@reddit
Yup, I missed that on the first viewing.
jetsetter023@reddit
Pressurized jet fuel too. Could've popped an eye out of his socket.
iReply2StupidPeople@reddit
A household water hose averages 50psi
A fire engine delivers water around 135psi
Aircraft refueling is done at exactly 35psi
jetsetter023@reddit
Ah so maybe not so much losing an eye. Those lines are wide though. So volume and mass of the fuel could be enough force to hurt. No one likes getting punch in the face. Imagine if the first that did it was Jet-A based.
unurbane@reddit
What is the typical pressure in the line?
Zealousideal_Ad_821@reddit
35-45 PSI
caverunner17@reddit
Isn’t that what household water is?
CallOfCorgithulhu@reddit
It's a fairly wide range for houses, but that's kind of the low end of useable pressure, and city systems can go even higher, like 60+psi. If you're immediately downstream of a good pumping station, it can be even higher at night when the grid's demand drops.
I used to work somewhere that sold water treatment/pumping/etc. stuff, and we had our own little "lab" full of filters and pumps and you name it. Some of our warehouse workers who worked overnight saw our gauges reading well over 100 psi.
I always always always recommend homeowners have a gauge on their home water supply line. I would never run a pump on my own property without a gauge at least on the outlet, and absolutely on the inlet if it's being supplied by a pressurized source (e.g. a well pump, or maybe a weak city supply). The number of people who broke their pumps because they don't understand inlet pressure limits was very high.
burkins89@reddit
Depends on your area and set up, but I’m assuming that’s coming out of a 2” hose at least. The volume would screw you up.
ConstantFar5448@reddit
Yeah certainly not a fire hose by any means, but the sheer volume would still knock a grown man over
aljama1991@reddit
It would be some interesting science to try to use it it to extinguish a fire ….
ConstantFar5448@reddit
I think you’ll find it makes the fire bigger 🤣
aljama1991@reddit
Well, that’s possible. But as a man of science, I’d like to test the hypothesis to see the results myself. For science.
Born-Entrepreneur@reddit
Are you perhaps a man of science who also happens to like fire?
Andromeda2345@reddit
Eh I’d say for me it’s around 45-60, that’s what we’re taught in our training
semioticmadness@reddit
Safety glasses aren’t SOP for ramp agents?
jetserf@reddit
This is a fueler. Ramper or ramp agent is a different job.
SH427@reddit
I call myself a rampie first but I did both
(I also dreaded fueling CRJs because they were all clunky and felt alike they were a year from being sent to the boneyard)
lastlaugh100@reddit
safety glasses should be mandatory when dealing with anything high pressure, this is nuts
combat_giraffe@reddit
Hell even if he did have them at that flow amount shit is going in your eyes. But still there is usually a senior lead on the crew who knows this shit. Usually the push back guy.
anymooseposter@reddit
Gasketed safety goggles
Historical_Gur_3054@reddit
Yep, was mandatory when I was working around liquid hazardous materials.
Sometimes we had to wear a face shield over the gasketed safety goggles as the first line of protection.
alexos77lo@reddit
You are asking too much for an industry that chase the Pennies and someone that earns just the minimum
chronoserpent@reddit
Yep exactly, we require safety goggles but my experience is in naval shipboard fuel so I guess we have more stringent standards
Not_Sir_Zook@reddit
Youre outside all the time. Safety glasses are a liability in the cold of winter.
Sounds dumb, but we have enough pain in the ass shit that gets in the way.
gefahr@reddit
like those pesky dead man's switch shutoffs. smh, stupid rope.
Not_Sir_Zook@reddit
I mean in general, the weather, the hoses, the little switches you have to take your gloves off for....
Safety glasses wouldnt have made much difference with the failure this guy had. Would've just blown em straight off his face lol most of us where su glasses for well over half the year.
It was mentioned before too, but for sure this guy pinched the dead man somewhere and also had a failure at the nozzle.
gefahr@reddit
Klein Tools makes a pair of gasketed safety goggles that are tinted sunglasses with adjustable vents so they don't fog etc. Home Depot has 'em for $30.
Not wearing them feels like not wearing a seatbelt. Almost certainly won't need it, and in some fraction of incidents that do happen it might not help all that much, but..
Not_Sir_Zook@reddit
I would wear polarized snowboarding goggles during the bad winter months but thats about it.
Also been years since I was an FBO line service guy
gefahr@reddit
All good, I took the time to type it up in case I could save someone else's eyeballs.
DiscoverySTS1@reddit
They are for us at Atlantic, don't know who this guy worked for though.
XysterU@reddit
Would safety glasses prevent water from getting in your eyes when you're being blasted by a fire hose? No. Safety glasses wouldn't help here either. Maybe a fully closed face shield?
Fantastic_Shake_9492@reddit
Would it prevent everything from getting into your eyes? No. Would it potentially prevent direct line of access from high pressure fuel to your eyes, absolutely. No PPE is perfect but it’s designed to help mitigate worse scenarios. The face shield would be better but the glasses are undoubtedly better than nothing. It may not have stopped catastrophic eye damage here. But it had a chance to and that’s always worth wearing. Similar to wearing a seatbelt in a car crash. It may not save you in a head on, but if there’s a 1% chance that it does, it’s worth wearing.
Peepeepoopoobutttoot@reddit
I don’t know about DFW but the two ramps I worked refuelers were their own subcontracted thing.
TRiC_2020@reddit
Plus you’re not allowed to run on the ramp
Disinformation_Bot@reddit
Blows my mind that those guys don't wear respirators considering how much they work on the airfield around all those fumes.
JohnCenaJunior@reddit
They teach you this when you become a refueler to know what it feels like to get jet fuel in the face
seang239@reddit
They spray jet fuel in the new people’s faces?
JohnCenaJunior@reddit
It's part of the initiation like pepper spray or taser to new security hiree
Glum-Ad7761@reddit
Kind of makes one wonder why goggles arent standard equipment if a face full of jet fuel is even a remote possibility…?
Pure-Kaleidoscope207@reddit
Is eye protection not mandatory in this role?
TheBlacktom@reddit
So, lessons learned: everyone should be trained of emergency stuff around their workplaces, because the only person who knew what to do was not able to do it.
Sawfish1212@reddit
I've been a fueler for two unrelated FBOs at different airports in different states. This will be a huge issue for the fuel contractor. Both places I worked had Deadman handles you had to keep squeezed in your hand to keep fuel flowing. Correct procedure was to start the flow into the aircraft and then release the Deadman to check the pump stopped, then squeeze again.
We fueled corporate jets mostly, and we're also supposed to check the aircraft shutoffs as well on certain types. Never did a CRJ, but plenty of challengers.
dubov@reddit
Isn't he checking his phone while he's "stumbling to the eyewash station"?
Halcyon_156@reddit
I worked with fuel in Alaska and have gotten diesel in my eyes more than once and it is not a good feeling. That being said I took every possible safety precaution and had back up plans for my back up plans and a radio to call for help in a moment's notice if need be. A situation like this would have been my worst nightmare and would have likely been the end of my career in fuel transportation.
call_sign_viper@reddit
Fair enough lol
Fantastic_Shake_9492@reddit
Watched it again and he seemed to be fine enough to walk directly back to it to make an adjustment, look at his phone, make a call, and then finally go back again and turn it off before video cuts out. Never made it to an eyewash station. Accident sprinkled with negligence all over. This is just bad across the board.
johno_mendo@reddit
looks like he got hit in the face by the end of the hose too
YMMV25@reddit
I’m not trained on how to use the emergency shutoff switch at the gas station, but if some other customer drops a gushing nozzle on the ground I’m going to run to find one and hit it. We’re not talking about something that requires a college degree here, just a fraction of common sense.
NuclearPopTarts@reddit
He got hit in the face with jet fuel ... all of us would struggle to find a shut off switch in that situation.
Uncivil_@reddit
I think he's talking about the other guy who sees the massive fuel spill and just kind of wanders away instead of coming and hitting the e-stop.
WhiskeyMikeMike@reddit
what do you think the other dude was looking for? Lol
YMMV25@reddit
What other dude?
WhiskeyMikeMike@reddit
The guy who shut it off at the end
Futt_Buckman@reddit
It's a big red button with big red text that reads "EMERGENCY FUEL SHUTOFF" that's about all the training I would need
aerocheck@reddit
Anybody on the ramp should be able to punch an emergency shutoff
BlackHistoryN1gg4@reddit
This is completely false. There is repeated, mandated training for everyone working in that environment to receive fire safety and spill management training.
BurpelsonAFB@reddit
Yeah I’m assuming he makes $16/hr and nobody invested in training him
Efficient_Tap_7899@reddit
There is a fueling crew on the ground when the aircraft is at the gate. Part of their training is for situations like this where it appears that the hose connection became disconnected under pressure. There is an E-Stop (Emergency Stop) that will initiate a controlled sequence to safety stop the flow of jet fuel.
FourDuvets@reddit
There could also be another stop located as a fixture that would cut the flow to all nearby stand (from the ground) and supposedly everyone on the ramp was told about that one.
WhiskeyMikeMike@reddit
Can confirm.
Economy_Link4609@reddit
I mean, ok - but stupid to me. Seems like one basic training that EVERYONE who will be feet on the ramp should have (Rampers, Pilots, guys delivering supplies, and the Blue Juice guy, etc) - "See that big red button that says Emergency? If there is an emergency - you MUST push it."
One would hope a spraying fuel hose would flash as an emergency - even in blue juice guy's brain.
Jeez.
Iwasshadowbaned1@reddit
That will change after this.
TheForks@reddit
How to use them? It’s a big red button. It’s not that hard.
WhiskeyMikeMike@reddit
Yeah, but knowing where that button is is part of getting trained to use it. Rampers don’t pay attention to these fuel carts normally.
combat_giraffe@reddit
More like just enough to not hit them with a vehicle. Doesn't stop them from hitting the planes though.
WhiskeyMikeMike@reddit
lol yeah
ILikeWoodAnMetal@reddit
Emergency stop buttons are usually placed in such a way that even for non trained people it is obvious which button to press.
FratStarStallion@reddit
I assumed fueler was blinded from the fuel but aviation is usually good about making big red switches and handles to indicate pull this if issue. But, my experience is just on flight deck so could be totally wrong
Urban_Panda0696@reddit
Most likely didn’t pay attention in training, they have shutoffs on both sides of the fuel truck. The crazy part is you’re the bad guy when you see signs of negligence and try to correct the personnel! It’s usually to avoid these things from happening in the first place.
XancasOne@reddit
Even watching this fully through, the amount of negligence is astounding. They are moving around like old people heading to Sunday church. They should all know how to stop the fuel. Letting the fuel continue to pour out is atrocious and creating more hazards. They really need to rethink the employment of these people if additional training does not yield better responses.
dhc2beaver@reddit
If you got a jet fuel bukkake you'd slow right down too
hufforguk@reddit
r/brandnewsentence
aquoad@reddit
also not a bad band name
2hurd@reddit
I'd just fire them on the spot. Fueler should be sacked immediately. Whole incident is just his attitude on display.
Casen_@reddit
These people don't get paid enough as is.
You think the ramp companies will spend more money on training?
Skalawag2@reddit
How is there no automatic shut off??? We figured it out for cars….
swurvipurvi@reddit
I was internally screaming ESO! ESO! WHAT THE FUCK! the whole time
saggywitchtits@reddit
You don't need an emergency shutoff when you just run out of fuel!
DrewSmithee@reddit
My favorite part is he takes a second to compose himself then immediately walks to the e-stop button, doesn't press it, then disappears for a minute before coming back to where he was to turn it off. Like wtf.
gargwasome@reddit
Guessing he tried to press the button after getting over the immediate pain of getting jet fuel in his eyes, couldn’t find it due to said fuel in eyes, got it rinsed out, and was then able to press it
rj31789@reddit
I was wondering the same thing since it’s usually a big red button
Better-Butterfly-309@reddit
Why didn’t he turn it off on the first visit to the fuel tender
CookFan88@reddit
They never paid attention during training and drills were canceled for time. It's the same story anytime these things happen. Complacency and accountants kill people.
The guy actually coupling thr fuel line to the aircraft also appears to have fuel in his eyes. OSHA will have a field day with this video. Its hard to hit a shutoff when your eyes are being burned and you're absorbing petrochemicals directly into your orbital and nasal mucous membranes.
Splash goggles rated for the material. Splash protective overhear. Review of safety training records. Proof of competency. So many more aspects of this for review by investigators...if they still have jobs.
cragglerock93@reddit
Accountants generally don't make decisions. They do a bunch of sums, tell the executives that they can save x million by cutting y, and the executive decides. The people at the top are ones the buck stops with, and they are paid handsomely for that.
CookFan88@reddit
Not in my experience. In my experience, accountants are also gatekeepers that you have to persuade to get money flowing. Purchase orders, approvals for trainings and supplies, billable hours, hiring outside experts for training, sometimes they even hold the literal keys for consumable equipment and supplies.
Aggressive_Noodler@reddit
The accountants don't even really do that. They literally just do the accounting. FP&A - Financial Planning & Analysis team, generally are the ones looking at the numbers and suggest making x changes to save y, etc etc
Rozurts@reddit
Right. I’m finance. I’m a fucking calculator. You made the call. I gave you options and numbers. I didn’t make any decisions.
Rainey06@reddit
People that do the job faster look better on paper. Not always in person.
Critical_Host8243@reddit
In another thread, a person claimed to be airport ground crew, and said those hoses have a dead-man's switch that you have to continuously hold down in order to keep the fuel going, and that this guy must have tied his down or else the mechanism failed on him.
Curious to the truth in that.
tropicbrownthunder@reddit
usually accountants-induced complacency. For the sake of money saving and crew find it "easier" to do the job skipping steps.
Howzitgoin@reddit
Those hoses have dead man’s switches. Unless it somehow failed, it was tampered with. So obviously the contractor doing the fueling is in a world of hurt, but if it was him that tampered with it, he’ll bear some liability from the insurance and lawyer man.
LoneStarHome80@reddit
This explains why you need to show up at the airport 4 hours before the flight.
imprimis2@reddit
I think dude got jet fuel up his nostrils by a high pressure blast to the face. He’s probably high as a kite trying to figure out what planet he’s on.
mig82au@reddit
It's basically kerosene. I doubt it has much huffing potential when it lacks the aromatics of gasoline.
Montaire@reddit
Which is exactly why these systems have a deadmans switch system
No_Public_7677@reddit
The first guy got hit in the face with the fuel
rapzeh@reddit
They're hourly
johno_mendo@reddit
it looks like the end of the hose might have hit him in the face and he might be pretty hurt looked like he had some sort of ppe on but maybe it didnt help and he tosses it off
Critical_Host8243@reddit
I posted this comment already in a different subreddit:
This video does not show any evidence of the hose hitting him "square in the face"
This video isn't of high enough quality or close enough to the man to actually see, without a doubt, what happened. It's missing too many frames.
If I had to make my best guess, I'd point out that most people getting hit "square in the face" would snap their head back, at the neck, as if they were looking up suddenly. This guy moves from his chest/right shoulder/torso. Which makes it hard to believe he got hit square in the face.
But yes it's clear he gets fuel in his eyes.
If you saw a different video, where the hose hits him in the face, feel free to share the link, but this video doesn't show him getting that.
johno_mendo@reddit
His head did snap back, the moment the video freezes his head looks like he's almost looking behind him and then it turns his entire body around and he ends up stumbling back from what appears to be some sort of impact, imo everything in this video suggests he was hit by the hose, weather in the face or chest is unclear.
Howzitgoin@reddit
I think he just took off his hat, not real PPE
gefahr@reddit
He had safety squints.
johno_mendo@reddit
ahh you may be right, hard to tell but does look like his head went from lumpy dark shape to round dark shape. does look like he may have been hit though. regardless i know nothing about this stuff but I'm sure there were at least a few ignored safety procures for this to even happen at all.
AvatarOfMomus@reddit
Because the guy who knows where the cutoff switch is was temporarily blinded by a face full of jetfuel, and despite what hollywood dramatics show rushing in a panic in an emergency almost always makes things worse.
There's already a jet fuel spill. Someone running and falling or hitting the wrong button is what will make it worse, not a bit more jet fuel spilling onto the tarmac. The only thing that really cost was some money.
BTMarquis@reddit
“Sorry, I’m on my 15 minute break now.”
DividerOfBums@reddit
Looks like he got sprayed in the face
Sea_Economy_3223@reddit
black things
tunacanhammer@reddit
Dallas
Gremlin0@reddit
No doubt. No need to hurry right?
nobodyisfreakinghome@reddit
The first guy got it right in the face. Probably. Any see or breath well.
Everyone else no excuse.
LearningDumbThings@reddit
Looks like it drilled him right in the eyes.
rnavstar@reddit
Yup!👍🏻
Figit090@reddit
What eyes?
Dermochelys@reddit
Because it's AI. Watch the small black thing that appears on the left side of the hose. The hose appears to move it to the left, but then somehow for no reason it zips to the right all on its own!
Random-Cpl@reddit
“Jet fuel spill? Ope, better walk off nonchalantly”
PyramidsEverywhere@reddit
DEI
oh_woo_fee@reddit
Why would they? That are paid minimum wages
MotorbreathX@reddit
So pay is the only motivator to give a shit? Even about preventing an emergent situation that could impact lives?
oh_woo_fee@reddit
Of course not. It’s enough for people to not give a fuck. Employees safety is very important too regardless of pay level. He obviously got injured when the fuel first started leaking
MotorbreathX@reddit
Of course safety is priority, but that wasn't your original comment.
StonkzFTW@reddit
The fuel be moving quick
dkinmn@reddit
Because running doesn't actually resolve this faster.
Calm movement and assessing before acting is actually very smart.
PoxyMusic@reddit
Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
daedelous@reddit
There’s a difference between running around in a panic and moving with some sense of urgency.
Zinger21@reddit
It's DFW... Nothing moves fast there.
pacwess@reddit
That is the under paid, under skilled, and under give a fuck walk.
dsdvbguutres@reddit
We're paid by the hour, hoss.
theagentK1@reddit
Because they probably eat so much fast food that their brain responds slowly to events!
chilliewilliie@reddit
Because they don’t care about losing their jobs
nobodyisfreakinghome@reddit
The first guy got it right in the face. I can see why he walked off. Why was nobody else hustling to shut that off?
Btjoe@reddit
It’s typically pretty loud on an airfield with hearing protection.
Objective_Surreality@reddit
That wasn't an accident, the guy very much on purpose decided he didn't want that job anymore.
Candid-Astronomer-49@reddit
Wtf no urgency? Ya, I don't want that person around a plane.
Da_Malpais_Legate@reddit
I think that they got some of it in their eyes
DrMantisToboggan-@reddit
"Yea let everyone burn, my eyes come first!"
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exadeuce@reddit
The man can't see.
hoodieweather-@reddit
You're so brave for making this comment behind a screen with no net fuel in your eyes 🤙
bigfoot_done_hiding@reddit
And at very high pressure. Pain, shock, and disorientation all evident.
dank_failure@reddit
Which is the reason why he went back… to do nothing
ClifftonSmith@reddit
I have watched thousands of aircraft be refueled. There was a very blatant bypass of the dead man switch. The dead man switches I have seen operated looked similar to the attached photo.
thecaramelbandit@reddit
Where is the business end of the cutoff? It looked like the hose itself failed catastrophically, leaving the actual nozzle attached.
ClifftonSmith@reddit
It ties into the pump controls. As soon as you release the switch the pump stops.
-Owlette-@reddit
Does that make refuelling a two man job? If so, where is this guy’s buddy, I wonder?
druuuval@reddit
I made 17 an hour fueling CRJs like this. They certainly aren’t going to “waste money” paying two of us that much to do it.
-Owlette-@reddit
“An extra 17 dollars an hour is too high a price to… checks notes …prevent the ground staff from accidentally self-immolating.”
-The CFO, probably
hellswaters@reddit
Yup. Deadman connects to the Deadman control valve. So when they release the Deadman, that valve should shut, which will stop the flow of fuel. ESD should be getting hit, which will cut the pump, or reference air to hydrant. Assuming it looks like a hydrant system, I wouldn't fault someone for hitting the full system shutoff as well
Montaire@reddit
They are designed for catastrophic failures of multiple redundant systems - they cut off at the base station level, in this case the pump itself will stop in a controlled stagedown as soon as the deadmans switch is released.
In this case someone (likely the fueler) disabled it. Probably with a tie off or tennis ball.
WEAPONSGRADEPOTATO2@reddit
That model card has a 2 minute timer till the deadman needs to be recycled. It’s a waste of time for a fueler to tie that deadman closed Source: former Menzies fueler
ThatDarnRosco@reddit
Don’t forget this is a pressure single point nozzle, where even if the deadman is bypassed the nozzle should close even if it disconnected.
Otherwise it could be a nozzle or nozzle to aircraft nozzle failure.
WorksWithPlanes@reddit
That’s great and all but the hose failed below the single point while still attached to the plane
heaintheavy@reddit
Smoke 'em if you got 'em.
Karl2241@reddit
He got it in his eyes so Why wasn’t he wearing his PPE? And if he could walk back why didn’t he turn this off faster? Why wasn’t there not a second person when this is normally a two man task?
Fire this man, and fire his supervisor. Implement new training, new or additional standards, and issue PPE. This was preventable.
sniper4273@reddit
Wait, really? It's supposed to be 2 people? Been flying for 10 years, the only times I've seen more than one fueler at a time were training or boredom.
Karl2241@reddit
Worked the flight line for 9 and a half years in the military, I (perhaps mistakenly) assumed it was industry standard. I think a strong argument could be made it should be two people if this isn’t a standard.
EpicFishFingers@reddit
Yeah exactly. The argument being "here the now-blinded man had to go and turn off the fuel; what if the fuel had ignited in that time?"
Lots of people talk about how basic safety is "enough" without properly considering how a failure plays out. Here we see how it REALLY goes down, and immediately any and all safety mechanisms and procedures completely failed. All of them.
Snatchamo@reddit
My company has a 2 person policy to prevent people hitting aircraft. They only hire/scedule enough people to fuel solo. If we had to wait for a guide nothing would ever get off the ground.
sirokman@reddit
I'm an airline fueler and have never had a partner unless I'm training.
Chaxterium@reddit
It's definitely not industry standard. I can't remember a single time in 20 years of flying that I've seen more than one fueler.
tanookiisasquirrel@reddit
Nah I fueled in the military a couple years ago on my own bird. Definitely one person job. I've never seen two and spent over a decade flying. Ordnance ops is 2-3. Fueling is 1.
FishDawgX@reddit
You know why. Just like with just about every job, doing it cheap and fast is more valued than doing it right.
whubbard@reddit
Yeah, because he is paid more to bypass the deadman. And he never rolled his eyes at procedure and briefings meant to prevent this. Because corporate and safety don't get the job.
Or he's likely paid by the hour, has safety bonuses, and was an idiot.
Johnny-Cash-Facts@reddit
If it's anything like my aircraft, there's no need for eye protection. The receptacle shouldn't be able to release fuel unless it has been inserted and locked into place. It looks like the hose actually ruptured.
RayjinCaucasian@reddit
You don't wear PPE because it shouldn't happen, you wear it because it could.
Karl2241@reddit
I’d argue PPE should always be worn when refueling. But I was never willing to risk my eyes or ears when working the line.
funnyfarm299@reddit
I agree. Even if it doesn't protect against the fuel, safety glasses will keep a shard of metal or hose from puncturing your eye.
bgibbz084@reddit
I don’t think you understand PPE. As an IT worker, I was required to wear safety glasses and steel toed boots at all times in our warehouse, even if nothing was actively at risk of falling on me or hitting my eye. Everyone on the ramp should have ear and eye protection at all times.
Johnny-Cash-Facts@reddit
It is not required, as per AFOSH and our technical data. It would just be in the way. I'm not going to use unnecessary PPE for the sake of "what if."
Leelze@reddit
Well, it was clearly necessary here lol.
BirdoTheMan@reddit
Isn't the fact that it ruptured proof that there is need for eye protection regardless of the design?
2050orBust@reddit
There's no way he isn't required to wear eye protection. But with that much volume and spray he would still have got fuel in his eyes without goggles.
leaky_wires@reddit
Drips and splashes sound a lot better than a jet of jeta to the face or eyes.
Howzitgoin@reddit
Eye protection for these types of tasks are just stronger glasses, not full on goggles. With that flow rate, it’d drench his eyes and not just be drops and splashes.
flying_wrenches@reddit
I’ve had a SW plane come into the ramp at VR and it sent sand everywhere, including my face.. another reason to wear glasses.
ThatBaseball7433@reddit
Any eye protection here is for splashes and not dozens of psi that will just blow the goggles or hood right off your head.
Selbstdenker@reddit
There is still a difference between getting fuel in your eyes and getting fuel blasted with high pressure in your eyes. Safety gear may not prevent the former but it can the latter.
nucleophilicattack@reddit
The fact that he got fuel in his eyes despite those safe guards tells us that equipment fails and you should wear safety gear!!
AutoRot@reddit
PPE for fueling is composite-toe boots, gloves, and maybe sunglasses.
Fueling a CRJ like that is always a one man job, and normally very routine.
Left-Bird8830@reddit
Why call for firing someone when you don't understand what happened?
ODoyles_Banana@reddit
Eye protection is useless when your entire face gets a blast of jet fuel.
RMCaird@reddit
Having been covered in crude oil while wearing full PPE, it still ended up in my eyes. The pressure of the crude was nowhere near the pressure coming out of this hose. Eye protection would do almost nothing in this scenario, whether he was wearing it or not.
Local_Injury81@reddit
There is no PPE requirement for eyes when using a coupling. Atleast there wasn’t when I did it for 8 years. What makes you think fueling is a 2 person job?
Karl2241@reddit
It was when I was in the military. I assumed that was standard in the military although it appears my assumption was incorrect.
PlaneDriver86@reddit
Eh, you were right in a different context.
ExileofFyr@reddit
He pulls something off his head and tosses it on the ground right after getting blasted, I wonder if that was his PPE and it just couldn't stop the high pressure fuel from reaching his eyes.
Actual_Environment_7@reddit
Safety goggles aren’t going to protect you from such high pressure spray.
Tenzipper@reddit
PPE won't do shit when you get blasted in the face by Jet-A at reasonably high velocity, it's going to squirt right under your goggles.
A full face shield might help, until it gets blasted off your head.
caedicus@reddit
Not every incident is going to blast PPE of your head.
Tenzipper@reddit
Well, you must not be having the right kind of incidents, then.
PPE is important, but it won't protect you from the outliers, it's there for the common issues.
Karl2241@reddit
Something is better than nothing, I can’t be convinced otherwise.
Tenzipper@reddit
Oh, definitely, but at the same time, filling your goggles up with fuel won't be better.
Anything is better than the safety squint.
Past-Afternoon1657@reddit
I totally wondered why there wasn't a 2nd person there with him while doing such a task...and the PPE missing-yikes!!!!
xena_70@reddit
I'm surprised there isn't a second person just manning the emergency off switch during fueling, that was an insanely long time to allow that much fuel to continue spilling.
EquivalentRoyal4062@reddit
Break time.
PapaVanTwee@reddit
He is wearing something on his head. He throws it off around 6-7 seconds. With that much pressure, I doubt even tight goggles would have protected him.
drsupermrcool@reddit
Yeah definitely some structural/procedural failures here. Unless that seal on the hose has always been foolproof in someway, hard to see how they haven't adjusted these processes before.
LefsaMadMuppet@reddit
Looks like the hose broke below the connector. You can see part of the system still plugged into the plane.
FalconX88@reddit
Even if you are earing PPE, if you get a few liters dumped over your head even a full face shield doesn't help much.
SlowAire@reddit
The nozzle looks like it is still connected and the hose separated. The worker took high pressure fuel right in the face. I doubt he could see much of anything.
The second worker didn't seem to know how to shut off the flow.
No way to tell if the appearance of a worker for a third time was worker 1, 2 or a third who knew how to shut down the flow.
One thing for sure, changes will be made so that this doesn't happen again.
Cisru711@reddit
And then those changes will be ignored. Like the previous changes that were designed to prevent this one.
Tema4@reddit
хорошо, что заправщик не курил
BloodSteyn@reddit
Fire that guy, and make him pay for the fuel and cleanup. He was not following safety procedures at all, and should be liable for this fuckup.
Zorg_Employee@reddit
Took the guy a fortnight to shut it off. Geez
homer-price@reddit
What’s the procedure to get all that cleaned up. I’m sure some of it made its way into the storm water drains.
Sotnos99@reddit
Is part of the hose still hanging out of the plane?
DirkDiggler2424@reddit
Also he is the ultimate of lazy Fuelers, a CRJ or any regional jet doesn’t take long to fuel at all
agrockett@reddit
One spark ⚡️
LoneStarHome80@reddit
Bro sure took his time to shut it off.
Find_A_Reason@reddit
Are all civilian flight ops just a total clown show? Just have a dude doing all the fueling ops entirely by himself?
Wild.
originalhobbitman@reddit
Yikes that's scary, I could really use something to calm my nerves, anyone got a smoke?
majoraloysius@reddit
Even an open flame won’t cause aviation fuel to ignite.
beetfield@reddit
When it's spraying around creating mist like that all bets are off. Not to mention the auto-ignition temperature of jet fuel is a lot lower than you'd think (lower than avgas). Look up the fueling incident in Denver with a British Airways B777 in 2001. Fueler died from the burns.
TinKicker@reddit
Until you atomize it…like it is in this video.
Treereme@reddit
Atomize it with pressure and heat and oxygen. On a cool night like this, it isn't sustaining ignition.
TinKicker@reddit
Oxygen…present in the atmosphere.
Pressure…provided by the hydrant.
Heat…that would be the spark…the only thing missing in this situation.
ConstantFar5448@reddit
If the ambient temp is over 38°C/100°F it can, that’s the point Jet A-1 produces enough vapour to ignite.
majoraloysius@reddit
It was 66° last night at DFW.
kh250b1@reddit
Why do aircrafts go up in a massive fireball from jet fuel in a crash then?
majoraloysius@reddit
Aerosolized fuel and enough heat make boom boom. Jet fuel spaying out of a hose on a cool night no boom boom.
Fresh-Wealth-8397@reddit
The day I learned that a lit cigarette won't light regular car gasoline on fire is the day that the movie Magic Died For Me. Like when the guys shooting at Robocop and it causes the gas to spray everywhere so he flicks the cigarette butt at the gas and there's a big explosion and RoboCop shoots him off his motorcycle and then you find out that the gas wouldn't even light on fire so lame
What_is_Owed_All@reddit
Gas doesn't. Vapors do.
Fresh-Wealth-8397@reddit
No they don't sorry their literally does not exist a cigarette on the planet that burns hot enough to ignite gasoline at any state. There is a German study where they tried 900 different brands of cigarettes to ignite gas vapors including blowing a whole bunch of air through the cigarette to make it hotter. Even MythBusters busted it I think they even tried to make a cigarette that burns hotter and still couldn't do it. And all that was on old cigarettes that burned hotter now we got lame "fire safe cigarettes"
What_is_Owed_All@reddit
Fair enough. I interpreted your phrasing of the gas wouldn't even catch on fire to mean in general, not specific to cigarettes, my bad. Because a lighter, used to light a cigarette, definitely could ignite those vapors.
TomOnABudget@reddit
Diesel also won't burn unless it's turned into a fine mist.
You know, like if it's sprayed with high pressure.
Treereme@reddit
Even then, kerosene like this isn't going to ignite. It needs to be sprayed in a mist and compressed with oxygen. And on a cool night like this, it won't even stay alight.
Zinger21@reddit
Jet fuel won't ignite, Do Not* try it with avgas
Ok-Operation-6432@reddit
Yeah it’ll melt every steel beam within 100 yards
Figit090@reddit
Fuck off.
Ok-Operation-6432@reddit
👍
oktsi@reddit
The jet fuel won't but the fume will. Depends on temperature
culprit020893@reddit
You must be fun at parties
_rebl@reddit
If that's your takeaway from this may you never procreate.
culprit020893@reddit
That’s all it takes huh?
_rebl@reddit
Can't be too careful
OccasionallyCurrent@reddit
You must not be fun anywhere.
Full-Trifle-4522@reddit
pretty sure a spark is enough to light it on fire
Similar-Tangerine@reddit
Meekus, no!!
aerohk@reddit
If you toss a lit match into a puddle of jet fuel, the match will go out.
donatecrypto4pets@reddit
Pumpkin spice menthol okay?
MasterDebatorUSMC@reddit
Flash point of JP5/8/JET A is 140F/100F
LeftInTheLumberYard@reddit
In liquid form, not mist.
Subpar-Amoeba@reddit
Question: Isn't aerosolized jet fuel much more flammable than the sitting liquid below its flash point? That's what causes the huge fireballs in crashes. This incident sure created a fine fuel-air mist.
mavric91@reddit
Great now google what flashpoint means
MasterDebatorUSMC@reddit
That would be not easily…
mavric91@reddit
Okay then carry on. Sorry I was so eager to point out wrong info
LateNightMilesOBrien@reddit
Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit smoking.
culprit020893@reddit
I at appreciated your joke without getting all literal on you.
Of course, it will take more than a cigarette to set this off. And of course, if someone comes walking up to this incident while smoking a cigarette, should probably still be advised to extinguish it.
blackmist88@reddit
Best I can do is orange mocha frappuccinos
burpinsoldier69@reddit
Why can’t fueling airplanes work just like fueling cars? It clicks off when fuel has reached the top?
catonmyshoulder69@reddit
Letting go the deadman handle should stop the flow. Don't even see one in the fueler's hand. And why does it take so long for them to shut the flow manually? Looks like the nozzle came apart at the screen inlet connection or maybe the hose end control valve that controls psi out..
Spiritual_Muscle2238@reddit
Union employees. The bigger the mess we allow it to become, the more job security we will enjoy tomorrow.
G19-3@reddit
What an ignorant take
StarskyNHutch862@reddit
Is it though?
G19-3@reddit
It is yes.
StarskyNHutch862@reddit
Totally disagree, and this video here is exhibit A...
G19-3@reddit
If you think the actions of anyone in that video are the result of a union you’re lost. We’ll agree to disagree.
Otto_von_Grotto@reddit
Idiotic.
AccomplishedFly4368@reddit
You are a victim of anti union propaganda defending corporations
Afa1234@reddit
Uhhh killswitch? Somebody?
rocketsocks@reddit
How many bags of cat litter will this take to clean up?
hopfot@reddit
As someone who worked in baggage handling, I can attest to the fact that people working in the airport ground crew can be some of the slowest and dumbest people I've had the displeasure to know.
An incident had occurred one day in which a poor sniffer dog checking bags in the bag-room (where we put bags in containers or on burrows) got one of his toe nails trapped between the conveyer belt plates. Everyone stopped and looked in shock towards the yelping dog and the handler struggling to free him. Even the guy standing right infront of the BIG RED EMERGENCY STOP BUTTON, just stood there staring. I was the only one who moved and reached out and slapped the button in front of him. When he heard me hit it, he looked at me with his shocked face and all he got from me was a VERY PISSED OF DEATH STARE.
Dog was okay btw, just had a little scare.
Bright_Broccoli1844@reddit
I am glad you let us know the dog was okay. Poor dog.
shendu_95@reddit
OSHA will have a field day with this one.
AlibabababilA@reddit
This Guy is definitely going to loose his Job; Atleast he's not refuelling another plane in this lifetime.
Altruistic_Ice1405@reddit
Looks just shy of 5 gallons to me
ICTPatriot@reddit
I work on fueling equipment this guy definitely got jet fuel in his eyes that is why he walked away like he did, I'm guessing that he only had the nozzle on half of the ears when he opened the valve it blew off I am not sure why he had no Deadman switch it is possible that it was bypassed with a rubber band.
Majician@reddit
Heavy hose, pressurized fuel, metal socket at end.....I feel sorry for that guys skull right now.....He must have broken something.
Jonahw8@reddit
I'm not sure if this guy was new, but it doesn't look good when you have to call someone to help you turn it off. That's part of training and also back when I was a refueler every truck has a Deadman switch
knavingknight@reddit
Is eye protection or some other PPE not required when fueling?
Kanyiko@reddit
You know you're having a bad day at work when CCTV of your work performance goes viral.
You know you're having a REALLY bad day at work when CCTV of your work performance is in everybody's news feed.
You know you're better off looking for a new job already when CCTV of your work performance is next year's work safety training video.
SoothedSnakePlant@reddit
Depends. The last one can be a "Why would I fire you when I just spend $200,000 to train you?" situation lmao
logitaunt@reddit
imagine thinking that you could quit a job and find one with commensurate pay, in this economy
fmr_AZ_PSM@reddit
"Be the safety brief"
SynthLup@reddit
That last scenario... you might not be alive to find work..
Jampolenta@reddit
🎶der der der dooo🎶 "Shake hands with danger"
DiscoverySTS1@reddit
"I went into to the Danger Zone"
CuVisions@reddit
If I'm in a workplace safety training video I just hope I'm alive to see it.
hellswaters@reddit
Yeah. This is already downloaded for my toolbox talk on Tuesday.
Kanyiko@reddit
I'm half expecting to see this over and over next week on Mentour, Blancolirio, Hoover's Pilot Debrief and a dozen of others. >.>
hellswaters@reddit
And since they no fuck all about fuel, how far off they are on it.
The_Salacious_Zaand@reddit
Everyone's life has purpose. Some people's purpose is to be an example to everyone else of what not to do.
Digiee-fosho@reddit
I was under the assumption that there is a pressurized valve on a tether to avoid that similar to military air to air refueling
Apprehensive_Cost937@reddit
This is why modern fueling equipment includes a "dead man's switch" (example) - the fueler has to keep holding/squeezing the button for the fuel to run. If there's an emergency, all they have to do is let go (which they'll likely do as a reflex anyway), and fuel stops flowing.
SubarcticFarmer@reddit
Works great unless the switch is bypassed or otherwise disabled like it appears to have been in this case. B
0xe1e10d68@reddit
That’s why you need proper procedures in place. The equipment needs to be locked out during the whole time the deadman switch is bypassed. And only whoever locked it out may also remove the lockout tag again.
That’s quite standard in many industries where you need to work on some machines from time to time but also ensure that it’s safe to work on.
fmr_AZ_PSM@reddit
No silly. That individual employee disabled the deadman himself so he wouldn’t have to hold it. Holding it is annoying. This happens all the time with safety devices like that. Worker defeats the device to make the job “easier” at the expense of safety.
There is a poor safety culture at that airport and all companies involved. Dozens need to be fired.
Snatchamo@reddit
Some people are unfathomably lazy. I've been in the industry for nearly a decade and still can't figure out why some people think its too much work to stand there holding a rope/switch, but they do.
gefahr@reddit
especially when they can still scroll Tiktok with their remaining free hand.
PeaceSoft@reddit
that's the thing about workplaces; proper procedures will be in place, and ignored
SubarcticFarmer@reddit
From what I recall most of them are a simple rope that goes to a lever on the cart or truck and some have an electric switch. I won't be surprised at all if they find a rope wrapped around something on the cart because someone didn't want to hold it.
igloofu@reddit
If you look closely at the video, it appears that hose failed. The interlock, nozzle, and the end of the hose is still attached to the plane.
SubarcticFarmer@reddit
The Deadman switch goes to the cart, not the end of the hose, and shuts off fuel there. This should not have happened with a working Deadman switch.
hellswaters@reddit
Yeah. Looks like single point broke off from the hose. But releasing the Deadman should immediately remove pressure from the hose. Then he should have hit the ESD on the truck, which should contain it as well.
That's a bad failure. But there seems to be a few other problems as well
Apprehensive_Cost937@reddit
A simple test at the start of refueling helps to avoid that.
SubarcticFarmer@reddit
That assumes it wasn't intentional,but you're correct.
DOT_____dot@reddit
Heeeemmmmm
Acthuuuaaaaally... Most modern equipment should have auto switch off detection if there s no counter pressure meaning it s detached
Deadman switch is the most common basic stuff
RakeshKakati@reddit
Looks like someone took "fueling the fire" a bit too literally! 🔥
noahbhm@reddit
Redditor here. I've read enough comments to come to a consensus. That is correct
RakeshKakati@reddit
Is it just me, or does this look like a scene from a slapstick comedy? 😂
Past_Description_126@reddit
So AA WHAT is your next move with this situation?
ttystikk@reddit
That's a water hose, not fuel?
skyfishwalking@reddit
Dude probably can't see after getting sprayed in the face like that.
karl1776@reddit
why wasn't there a ball of fire
Thequiet01@reddit
No source of ignition
karl1776@reddit
It doesn't take much
rygelicus@reddit
Frankly everyone on the ground crew should be trained in 'how to shut the fuel off' when they see a big spill starting. Every baggage handler, every fueler, the push back drivers, all of them. If you see a hose spraying fuel make it stop should be the only thought in your head.
coloradokyle93@reddit
It’s mentioned in training. At least my trainer mentioned it and I’m a generic ramp service agent. “Here’s where the emergency fuel cutoff switches are. Only use them in an emergency cause they cut off fuel to the entire concourse and it takes like an hour to get the system up and running again.”
Elios000@reddit
this was my first thought too
Latter-Award-2961@reddit
The tv station?
56_is_the_new_35@reddit
I have a deck of Bicycle playing cards. Can confirm.
Zephylia@reddit
He so casually just started walking away because he knew he was fired ~
nitzane@reddit
So many wasted dinosaurs
Elios000@reddit
more like trees or plankton
Urban_Panda0696@reddit
Wow what a mess, first instinct is to hit the emergency shutoff! Guy was dazing around!
Dorothyismyneighbor@reddit
That stench is overpowering and makes my eyes water from behind the internet. Kudos to the guy with vapor and fuel in his eyes trying to hit the E stop.
Worldly_Ambition_509@reddit
Serious question: Why is no one talking about the fire/explosion hazard in this situation? Would the fueler want to get out of the area as soon as possible to avoid becoming a catastrophic casualty?
cyberentomology@reddit
Because jet fuel isn’t explosive
Elios000@reddit
its basically kerosene thats REALLY pure
insuranceguynyc@reddit
I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night, and I wholeheartedly concur!
EpiphyticOrchid8927@reddit
That's fucked
FieldMarchalQ@reddit
Had to board a flight via stairs on the tarmac once when they were fuelling up the plane, thought to myself what could go wrong!
btc909@reddit
blancolirio is going to have a field day with this one.
Nandulal@reddit
well that was fucking stupid
ConstantFar5448@reddit
I used to be a fueller, granted not in the states so I’m not sure what the regulations are there, but in Canada it’s legally required to have a deadman switch which immediately stops the flow of fuel if the fueller lets go of it. Is that not a thing in the US?
Having fuelled several CRJs, I know how easily the hose could come off, piece of shit aircraft when it comes to the refuelling system, but I don’t understand why the fuel kept flowing unless a deadman switch isn’t required in the states.
gefahr@reddit
Definitely a thing based on the 100s of other comments here from fuelers. Near certainty that the protagonist in this video had bypassed theirs against policy.
ConstantFar5448@reddit
Against policy, and if the states is the same as Canada, against the law
DiscoverySTS1@reddit
FAA, and I imagine the airport itself will ho after him. What ever company he works for is probably going to see consequences too.
gefahr@reddit
Hope so.
PatientTelevision780@reddit
I know he just got blinded with jetfuel but at least attempt emergency shut off switch
PatientTelevision780@reddit
Okay I saw the end after Gallons get on the ground
floodblood@reddit
looks like the hose itself suffered a failure, which lefy the dead man's switch attached to the plane and thus just became an open garden hose of jet fuel
while I'd have expected an emergency shutoff to have been hit sooner, remember jet fuel has a much higher flash point than gasoline. at around 100 degrees fahrenheit, it won't light with say a lighter, or a small flame. it needs to be heated and/or atomized to to ignite in the traditional fashion that we would assume if we saw say gasoline in the same fashion
fmr_AZ_PSM@reddit
This has happened before, and ignited.
SiteRelEnby@reddit
Atomized like being sprayed out of a hose at high pressure?
floodblood@reddit
lmao now that I think about it, you may be right
idk man I just assume smarter people than me made sure this was safer than it looks, even with the spray
SiteRelEnby@reddit
It's way less unsafe than if it was avgas or normal petrol, but still not a good situation, and a fire still absolutely possible.
HistoricalFill7257@reddit
I know what steps I would take………..fkin big ones
HelpDaren@reddit
I'm involved in 3 safety committees at work (first aider/fire marshal/IOSH-cert H&S).
We aren't an airport. Our job isn't really dangerous. It's a simple manufacturing warehouse, nailing stuff together.
Whenever I see anyone without ANY sort of PPE they're required to wear or seeing anything dodgy being done, that's an instant report.
No questions asked, no excuses listened to, just a quick photo taken (if possible), and a report written. I don't care if you'll get a written warning. I don't care if you get points on your licence. I don't care if you lose your job. I don't care if your family starves to death because of that. You've had ONE job, ONE simple precaution to take, ONE simple movement to do. The company didn't ask you to wear a HAZMAT suit, they told you to put an earplug/goggles/hiviz/seatbelt on. If you don't do that, that's only on you, not on me. I didn't undo your seatbelt, I didn't rip your earplugs out, I didn't take your goggles off. You did that. You alone.
I've been told once, although unofficially, that I report too many people and it causes a shitshow in the H&S office as they have to do an investigation every single time. I told them I don't care. We have rules to protect all employees, regardless of their position. If we let one thing slide, we have to let everything slide. We can't say "oh yeah, that's fine this time" to one person but not to others. The blue sign on the door states that you have to wear PPE at all times, I expect everyone to oblige. My guys, my boss, even the general manager (I've got a major bollocking for reporting him for not wearing goggles...).
Is it my job to make sure everyone obeys H&S rules? No it isn't. My job is to report them. I do that. Not because it gives me a boner, I'm not on a power-trip, but every single time we disregard a H&S rule, we're asking for trouble. Someone will get injured. Doesn't matter how small the injury is, it will happen.
I treated someone with a scratched eyelid caused by rusty a nail because he didn't wear goggles. I treated someone's busted left leg after he fell into a drainhole because he didn't look where he walked. I treated someone with glass cuts because he pulled a trailer curtain FROM the forklift and the buckle caught the window. I took people home, I took people to a hospital.
All of these happened because they couldn't be arsed to follow ONE simple rule. To wear ONE piece of PPE. To follow ONE simple line on the ground.
H&S rules are written in blood. We can't have anything flammable closer than 5 metres to buildings because buildings have burned down because of it. We have to wear anticut gloves at saw tables because people cut their fingers off. We have to wear safety goggles because people lost their eyes by a tiny piece of splinter.
I know it's a bother to to keep taking your goggles off and putting them back on every 4 hours, I know it's a bother to keep changing gloves for different tasks, and I know it's a bother to take earplugs out and putting them back in after every conversation with your colleagues/managers, but these rules are there because what's the alternative? You lose your finger, you lose your eyes, you lose your hearing. You can go from absolutely healthy to permanently disabled in a fraction of a second. Does it happen every single day? No, it doesn't. Can it though? Absolutely can.
Would it worth it?...
KirkieSB@reddit
I guess people ❤️ you for your social skills. 🤣
HelpDaren@reddit
They actually do, I'm a generally chill guy.
When my boss has a day off and I have to step up to lead the unit, I don't rush them, I don't put pressure on them, I don't micromanage. All I ask is to do their jobs while following safety rules. If it takes twice as long, it takes twice as long. If it can't be done that way, it can't be done. Their safety is paramount, everything else comes after.
I've had several conversations with them about that. I don't care how long it takes as long as it's safe. I don't care that "it's been done like this for ages", if they have to put them in risk, they can't do it like that. For example, manual handling. Everything above 25kg is a 2-men job by the company's own H&S guidelines. I don't care if they can lift it on their own. I don't care if that's how they did it for the past 6 years. I don't need strong men, I need healthy men. If the guideline says it's a 2-men lift, it's going to be lifted by 2 men. If they have to wait for someone to help them lift, they'll wait. If, because of that, it makes a 2 hours job 3 hours, it will be done in 3 hours. But as much as I give them leniency and the chance to fuck around, I expect them to follow the very same set of rules that lets them fuck around. If I see them lifting a 35kg panel on their own because "it's faster this way", that's going to be a report and they know that.
I've had people doing arduous, 2-men job on their own just so the next day they couldn't even lift a hammer as they threw their backs off. I don't need that. I don't need people limping all over the unit doing absolutely nothing because they can't. I don't want to spend hours in the first aid room with them, listening to them crying about this pain or that pain if all of those pains caused by them.
I don't want to get into yet another "why do I have to wear goggles if I'm not even using a tool" argument while 2 metres from them someone else is shooting 100mm nails into something at a 130PSI...
If that's too hard to digest, they should look for another career...
Thequiet01@reddit
I would work with you, just FYI.
texred355@reddit
Safety rules are written in the blood and body parts of those who disregard their PPE.
haerski@reddit
That's no incident, that's a full blown whoopsie. Perhaps even a mybad
fmr_AZ_PSM@reddit
He will be fired for disabling the deadman switch, and not wearing required PPE. If he's permanently injured, the company will fight the workman's comp claim/suit tooth and nail. Might even win.
Indentured-peasant@reddit
So I guess the deadman was tied off?
megalynn44@reddit
Could have been so much more tragic😳
DasBIscuits@reddit
Straight up jet fuel
No_Priors@reddit
I got my hand stuck in a running conveyor belt once, turns out I was the only person who knew where the emergency stop button was. Safety needs redundancy.
NukeWifeGuy@reddit
I can smell this video…
sirokman@reddit
Jet fuel is like water, clear and mostly odorless.
NukeWifeGuy@reddit
What? What kind of jet fuel do you smell?
PabloFreshcobar001@reddit
Buddy gets fuel in his eye and just walks off? Should be illegal somehow, just blatant irresponsibility
Andromeda2345@reddit
As an aircraft refueler I’m terrified of this Happening
twl245@reddit
Turn it off bro wtf
Accomplished_Elk3979@reddit
Looks like he got some in his eyes and was temporarily blinded and disoriented
tobiasvl@reddit
Or permanently...
wimpwad@reddit
ok then wear your PPE and don't bypass the deadmans switch when working in a safety critical environment bro wtf
You're definitely right and that's what happened, but still, absolutely piss poor performance
opensandshuts@reddit
yeah....there are certain things that make it near impossible to react responsibly and getting gasoline in your eyes at that pressure is probably one of them.
surprised someone nearby didn't rush in, but they may not have known how that machine works anyways.
Bright-Ad9516@reddit
Pressurized fuel into their eyes and airways. No one works well in those conditions.
Fool-Frame@reddit
If this is gasoline it’s an even bigger problem than the spill.
I_Am_Zampano@reddit
Bro was Peter Northed for a good couple of seconds at a very high pressure and flow rate
Gunsh0t@reddit
He still gets his phone and and calls someone so clearly he wasn’t THAT blinded by it.
Accomplished_Elk3979@reddit
I’m not seeing anything like that, I just see someone wiping mass quantities of jet fuel from their eyeballs
limits660@reddit
I'm not a smart person and I didn't stay in a holiday inn express last night, but wouldn't that kind of connection have an automatic seal if it was knocked loose from its endpoint?
WaterlooLion@reddit
The endpoint has an automatic seal. Looks like the hose disconnected from its endpoint.
limits660@reddit
But that hose itself doesn't have a safety feature?
Safe_Can_2370@reddit
How many automatic seal points would you install along the length of the hose? What if it ruptures between two of them?
Dangorth6@reddit
That’s got to be fake. Every refueler I’ve used always has a deadman switch. Plus who would just walk around like no big deal.
DiscoverySTS1@reddit
I wish it was fake
Dermochelys@reddit
I honestly think this is AI.
Watch the small black thing that appears on the left side of the hose as the person is walking away.
The hose "moves" it to the left and then you see it move all by itself to the right all of a sudden without anything acting on it.
DiscoverySTS1@reddit
It's not
DOT_____dot@reddit
To all the people shittong on him, he probably got injured / stunned
This high pressure stuff just released on his face. PPE or not, he must be confused
What confuses me more is that he s alone and there s not a second mate for such a critical safety step, standing neat the Deadman switch or whatever
DiscoverySTS1@reddit
Most fueling is done solo that I've seen in the US. And if you do have others around you they may not be from the same company. There was definitely a failure of procedures and bypass of safety measures going here. And the truck may have outright failed on top of it.
dzolna@reddit
That's why you don't work around safety features like dead man stop. So that your personal injury isn't a factor
Reddit_Novice@reddit
Take your time hitting the cutoff switch. No rush or anything
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Ruin369@reddit
Those hoses put out 10 gallons every second.
How do you even clean that up?
Darksirius@reddit
50k lbs of kitty litter.
Gyrochronatom@reddit
Light a cigarette.
Darksirius@reddit
They don't burn hot enough to ignite jet a. Or even regular gasoline. You can throw it into a puddle of the shit and it'll just go out.
KirkieSB@reddit
Truck with a hose sucking it all up.
Carlentini1919@reddit
I didn’t realize how many ramp refueling experts we have here in the comments. There must be hours of Google and YouTube experience among them.
DiscoverySTS1@reddit
People can just work with the trucks, or have worked with them. I certainly didn't ask to be called a armchair fueler by you yet here we are. It's not that hard to get a job as a fueler either.
I_Am_Zampano@reddit
Apparently each of them can ignore a fire hydrant blast of jet A directly to the eyes and blindly run directly to the kill switch without being affected at all. Thank you expert redditors for your dedication and heroism
Montaire@reddit
Its the deadmans switch everyone is grousing about. Someone must have disabled it for this error to have happened.
UnspeakablePudding@reddit
Guys are acting like Mr. Phelps from 3rd period PE is lurking the tarmac to bust them for running in the hall.
VolunteerNarrator@reddit
Oddly specific
Routine_Brush6877@reddit
No sense of urgency for a potentially life threatning situation. Amazing. Hit the fucking big red button bro
Sassy-irish-lassy@reddit
He probably would of he could see
BroasisMusic@reddit
Good news! You don't need to see to release the deadman switch you're holding....
err..... supposed to be holding...
StarskyNHutch862@reddit
Fuck off dude, better be trained on the shut offs instead of letting a thousand gallons of fucking jet fuel spray all over the tarmac, fucking fire this dude.
bpp1076@reddit
nobody thought of this except for you
Immediate-Cheek-51@reddit
Where the hell is the dead man switch or estop?
DiscoverySTS1@reddit
Or someone closing the vaule.
rellett@reddit
switch off, you would think it would only work in the locked position
Far-Adhesiveness7697@reddit
Dude said screw this I’m going on lunch
LocalAmateur@reddit
Break out the kitty litter
Relevant-Drive6946@reddit
I seriously hope this guy was fired.
Obviously he is top dog in his world, doesn’t care about anything else, or anyone else.
Please, find a job where 500 million dollar planes are not in jeopardy, just because of your carelessness.
Antique-Kitchen-1896@reddit
Well guess the only way it could be worse would be if it was the sewage drain doing that?
shocky32@reddit
“That ain’t my job man”
gefahr@reddit
He's the fielder not the unfueler. Not sure why people are expecting him to do both jobs.
shocky32@reddit
You just perfectly captured my point. Thank you
DrCool20@reddit
NOTHING BEATS A JET FUEL HOLIDAY
yepyep1243@reddit
RemindMe! 10 days
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Dac9493@reddit
As an aircraft mechanic, I can smell this video.
Virtual_Area8230@reddit
"Hose spraying fuel everywhere? Not my problem."
I_Am_Zampano@reddit
Try getting a direct sustained high pressure, high flow blast of jet A right into YOUR eyes and see if you run right for the kill switch
Virtual_Area8230@reddit
I'd probably, you know, turn the fuel flow off, BEFORE I decided to unhook the thing.
Left-Bird8830@reddit
You should probably hesitate more before commenting on topics you don't know.
Virtual_Area8230@reddit
How am I incorrect? In detail, please.
Left-Bird8830@reddit
You could just read the comments here. They detail that an equipment failure clearly occurred here. The actual nozzle is still attached to the plane.
Virtual_Area8230@reddit
Fair enough. Does look like he got it shut off there at the end as well.
ClaymoresInTheCloset@reddit
"Oh that? Someone will get that. In the meantime, I think its best if I stumble around like Gran at the assisted living center."
RoofFlaps@reddit
i wonder if you’ve ever had gasoline sprayed into your eyes at a high pressure before
HuskyKMA@reddit
61 seconds to shut the flow off seems a bit too long.
JoeS830@reddit
I don't think I've said "Jesus Christ" this many times in a row before. Jesus Christ.
mrspaznout@reddit
Nice 350-ish gallons a minute at <40 psi, fun times.
asphaltaddict33@reddit
Underbelly was due for a good jet-a wash anyway
smart_bear6@reddit
Yeah. Nothing like a little kerosene to clean all that grime.
photoengineer@reddit
It’s exfoliating
Impedateon@reddit
wash my belleh
photoengineer@reddit
I used to design refueling systems. The number of things wrong here are astoundingly high.
cikssfmo21@reddit
me trying to pee in the morning
Appeltaartlekker@reddit
Lol. This hase to be fake news and a.i. created.
No emergency system or a 4 eyes principle? Not slamming the emergency stop switch? How on earth is this possible?
Imagine that guy got knocked out. For how long would the fuel keep flowing.
Seriously, this should have repercussions...
Toopootamadre@reddit
What a fucking idiot, no rush to do anything, fucking union workers in airports don’t give a fuck!
Miles_Everhart@reddit
Everyone is so fucking unbothered lmao
Vanson1200r@reddit
I was involved in something similar doing underway replenishment on a Navy Destroyer (DDG 54). A refueling ship comes up alongside us and both of our ships are doing about 13 knots and a large probe comes over and gets inserted into our fuel receiver well the bottom hose of our fuel receiver popped off and it took about 28 seconds for the fueling ship cease fueling. All of us were washed off our feet and covered in DFM and our Damage Control teams (me) activated the AFFF station to cover the fuel but only seawater came out. I ran inside still soaked with fuel and opened up the cross connect valves and activated the aft AFFF station and got foam on deck. The risk of fire was low because it was cold as heck outside but as a junior sailor I received my first Navy Achievement Medal because of the training I had.
slogive1@reddit
Why didn't the guy go to the emergency cut off? Just walks away casually.
xpkranger@reddit
Only thing that makes sense is that he got hit in the face with or the hose or both. Enough self preservation to walk away from the bad thing while trying to assess your own injuries but not much else.
PilotKnob@reddit
Deadman switch not working or something?
WallandBall@reddit
Read all the comments, but I don't see a clear answer to these question:
Why is the person standing there with the pump on and no way to shut it off? Don't you secure the line and then turn the pump on away from the connection point, ready to turn it off if anything fails?
I find it hard to believe that with all the safety oversight in aviation, you don't have a way to stop the pump immediately, from where you are currently standing, if the line were to rupture.
Jim_Beaux_@reddit
I watched all of that just to be disappointed it didn’t end in a tragic fireball. Waste of my time
Throwaway_tequila@reddit
Not the brightest employee.
Gringo_Jon@reddit
A high pressure blast of jet fuel right in the face. I'd head straight for the emergency wash station. Anyway. I'm sure the fuel is stored very cold but does it also evaporate very quickly? That nozzle was spewing for a full minute but the pool of fuel seems to reach a point where it doesn't really grow anymore.
SodamessNCO@reddit
I can't imagine getting a face full of fuel, at that pressure makes it 10x worse. Anyone know what injuries this guy got?
teezythakidd@reddit
the only injury is probably a decertification or dismissal. he walked clean tf off like it was nbd that $40,000+ worth of jet-a is all over the ramp lol
Conductor_Mike@reddit
These jobs pay too little and have a high turnover so they end up attracting people with "fuck it" attitudes. Pay more and they'll attract people who appreciate the responsibility they have and wont tamper with safety devices.
valerislysander@reddit
That's crazy. All that fuel.
glizzytwister@reddit
I like the other guy that looks over like "So, got everything under control? Yeah? Cool, I'm gonna go this way".
dieseljester@reddit
Oh man… clean up is gonna be a bitch on that. Break out the industrial kitty litter!
boilerdam@reddit
So, the guy took 62s to shut off the flow of fuel. Google says pump rate for ground refueling is 200-600gpm. So, best case scenario @ 200gpm, the guy wasted 206.7 gallons. Worst case scenario @ 600gpm, it’s 620gal.
DFW AvGas is $4.50-$7.00. So, best best case = $927. Worst worst = $4,340.
I don’t know how actuaries would calculate the level of risk here with up to 600gal of fuel just laying on the tarmac for however long it was sitting until retardant was sprayed (hopefully it was).
lastlaugh100@reddit
guy likely has a detached retina or two, possible permanent blindness is one or both eyes. The loss of $4k worth of fuel is small compared to the cost of possible permanent blindness.
Gibbie42@reddit
You see him literally walk leisurely walking over the edge of the screen, casually wiping his eyes with his shirt. He stands there for a few seconds, you can just see his head in the frame, wiping his eyes. Then he wanders back to the cart, fiddles with something, wanders back off, this time out of frame and then come back and hit the shut off. I don't think he's in that much pain or had that many injuries.
I don't think this video is what everyone thinks it is.
boilerdam@reddit
Yup, agreed that property damage or material loss is likely insignificant in this scenario. I hope he’s ok but also that people & companies learn from this to avoid a reputation of potentially bigger proportions.
Gremlin0@reddit
That is a big deal. Wow.
ThatDarnRosco@reddit
If the nozzle is working correctly it shouldn’t spray at all. It’s a pressure nozzle end, only opens when it’s connected to a port and closes when the pressure on the other side is sufficient.
affectionate_ant@reddit
It looks like the fueler got hit in the face and couldn’t see. And as a former ramper, I know ramp guys are not trained at all on fueling. Not even where the emergency cutoff switch is. The best a ramper could do in this scenario is to watch and radio someone to send help.
FineScratch@reddit
Its really hard to fuck that up. If you look closely the single point receptacle is still attached. He was messing with the clicky rings.
Also, the hose cart operator is supposed to be holding a deadman switch. All you do is let go and it stops. Which means someone was probably overriding safety procedures.
Everyone is getting decertified on this.
Sufficient_Eye5804@reddit
WTF! How long does it take for a valve to close?
Dermochelys@reddit
Honest question....is this just AI slop? It seems if this really happened the national news websites would be reporting on it. Also, if "yesterday" was October 11, 2025, tail number N593NN arrived at DFW at 3:40 PM CMT and left at 4:35PM CMT and this video is after dark.
Genuinely curious if anyone can actually confirm this really happened.
iamkiloman@reddit
If you look back like two more flights, you'll see that it was at DFW from 9:30 PM on the 10th until 11AM on the 11th. I'm assuming this happened in the dark early morning and it took them until 11 to get this cleaned up and the aircraft back into service.
Dermochelys@reddit
Oops, missed that, good catch! This still seems very suspicious to me based on how the people are reacting though. See the small black thing that appears on the left side of the hose. After the hose moves it to the left, it somehow moves by itself back to the right!
Weebus@reddit
There's a view from inside the terminal. I'm guessing the black thing is tethered to something else.
biggsteve81@reddit
This could have occured any time between its arrival in Dallas on the 10th at 9:21 PM and the departure at 11:30 the next morning.
Dermochelys@reddit
Sorry, I missed that. Edited post....
fred1317@reddit
The video in reverse is an AI industrial shop vac.
Dreamer1926@reddit
At least at my airport by the wall where the building is at there’s always a fuel shut off valve, surprised it took so long to be activated.
Sabregunner1@reddit
dude, run to shut of the fuel!
Some-Air1274@reddit
Such a waste of fuel. Can he not turn it off?
ZeneticX@reddit
Do we know how much in financial lost was that?
runlola@reddit
Why isn’t the person in the background getting the F out of there? And there’s a person in the plane, shouldn’t they be leaving?
Shay5746@reddit
How do you even clean that up? Throw down a bunch of sawdust?
Freepi@reddit
The drainage system is designed with retaining basins/tanks that capture the spill and then get vacuumed out. They hold something joke when 10-year design storm and release it slowly. I don’t know the specific specs for airports but oil-water separators are standard for gas stations, etc.
Ill-Bee8787@reddit
There are vacuum trucks/machines to clean large spills like this. Absorbent mats designed for smaller spills. If it’s a small spill on a hot day in full sun, might not be much clean up needed 😁
agha0013@reddit
Very odd to see a single point pissing fuel while not connected, they are designed in such a way that this is supposed to be impossible, but shit breaks and shit happens.
Hope he got that stuff out of his eyes.
My very first plane to fuel was a king air with nacelle tanks that were notorious for splashing in your face with zero warning, made a bit of a mess on my uniform. This guy got a much higher flow rate blasted in his face.
Scorpior3flex@reddit
Either he tied off the Deadman switch or it is faulty. The fuel should have stopped immediately when it released. The fueled maybe out of a job and fined a good amount
gordonlordbyron@reddit
The complete idiot walking away without even the slightest bit of urgency is extremely infuriating, just dumb beyond belief.
Overwatchingu@reddit
He just got a face full of jet fuel, he might be having trouble seeing where he’s going.
Last-Phrase@reddit
That’s the cringe here. The guy has no sense of urgency at all.
Hope the guy is let go. Seriously.
Mikriii@reddit
You would think they would have 1 guy at the pump then another at the fitting, would prevent this
Doufnuget@reddit
Or at least someone who knows how to operate the ESD
Beautiful-Low9454@reddit
Don’t get in a hurry just stand there and watch it, wtf are you on break?
Accurate_Weekend_272@reddit
Whoa! Was this video in slow motion? Cause that dude was moving slow, seeing it was an urgent matter and all!
soontobecp@reddit
That guy needs to be fired immediately. Not because he messed up with refueling but because how he acted afterwards.
Python_07@reddit
WTF. Such inaction. Looks almost intentional.
bigfoot_done_hiding@reddit
He just took a very unexpected sudden very high pressure blast of jet fuel to his eyes and face. He's very likely in pain and in shock, and not thinking straight or seeing very clearly.
Python_07@reddit
Good point. I should have seen that.
kk074@reddit
Picked the wrong week to quit smoking
LookMaNoBrain77@reddit
He is the reason for tomorrow's safety meeting
Lharper3rd@reddit
Bro go press the emergency shutoff!!!
1970s_MonkeyKing@reddit
I guess spraying the outside of the plane makes it go faster?
photogeek83@reddit
As someone who worked the GA side of things, WHY was the pump even running on the truck before the connection to the plane was completely secure.
I was trained to connect the hose, turn and lock the connector and attach the grounding cable, then go back to the truck and turn the pump on. Not only for safety, but to be able to watch the meter to ensure you didn't overfill the amount of fuel that the pilot requested.
trackday21@reddit
Seen a lot of refueling, never seen someone tie off the switch. If he hadn't tied it off, it wouldn't have happened like this and we wouldn't have had such a wild video.
MannerScared6899@reddit
Looks like a 4.7 gallon spill
CraftyPay99@reddit
Turn the efffing pump off and isolate.
BabiesatemydingoNSW@reddit
FFS why is that rampie taking his time getting to the emergency shutoff??
KaleidoscopeLeft5511@reddit
BulkyWar7513@reddit
I’m still not seeing any news reports about this
Connect_Comfortable4@reddit
I haven’t seen a plane fuel pump in my life and I was 100% sure the emergency cutoff had to be THERE.
Silly_Primary_3393@reddit
Looks like someone forgot to safety wire/cotter pin the hose to SPR connector. Seen it before, usually the hose or the connector was recently swapped out and the guy doing it didn’t finishing the task. Some connections are a QD type, so if its not cotter pined just a slight amount of hand pressure will cause it to popped off. However, am really blown away at how lackadaisical everyone in the video is.
The guy fueling absolutely got fuel in his face, by my 1st response would be to run blind to the fuel shutoff, of course there should be a deadman switch being held during the fueling that would had stopped this.
The LAV servicing guy ain’t even paying attention, the n when he does see it he just casually walks back as if dumping hundreds of lbs of JET A is normal.
Refuel on the jet in the background has no idea what’s going on even though we has looking that direction during the 1st 17 seconds of the event.
BillyB-70800@reddit
Wow that’s scary
Bees-and-the-Birds@reddit
What is the fuel dispensing rate on one of these pumps? Curious how much was sprayed out in that minute of chaos.
Ill-Bee8787@reddit
I’d guess 100-200 gallons a minute.
polarisdelta@reddit
All factors considered somewhere between 225 and 300 gallons per minute.
Vegetable_Web3799@reddit
Anyone have a gate number where this happened?
corcaighnj@reddit
Get the spill kit…
Afterturder@reddit
A burnt out sandwich artist is more capable and responsive than this guy.
dhc2beaver@reddit
A burnt out sandwich artist doesn't get a faceful of jet fuel before making a sandwich
bigfoot_done_hiding@reddit
At super high pressure
Substantial-Log5233@reddit
Someone clearly have no sense of urgency..
Windnpine@reddit
No eye and face protection? He's dressed the same as a baggage handler.
_demon_llama_@reddit
Don’t these all run off a dead man switch? Release the switch or cord and the fuel stops?
srirachaninja@reddit
distinguished25@reddit
Surprised I had to scroll this far to see this reference.
grungegoth@reddit
Good thing jet a isn't very volatile, it's like liquid candle wax
dan_gfcx@reddit
First assumption was it was fake, but God Lordy, that’s a major incident
Better-Passion-566@reddit
There goes this years salary
wtonb@reddit
Did the fuel hose come apart? Don’t know what I’m looking at but it looks like there’s still a section attached to the plane
Cheap-Peach5127@reddit
I accidentally got some asphalt on my butt yesterday front lying on the pavement fixing my car. I could take a shower in here
dhc2beaver@reddit
Good god that would REEK
CrappyTan69@reddit
Was that windscreen washer or fuel?
The urgency of people suggests the former....
bigfoot_done_hiding@reddit
Getting a high pressure blast of jet fuel in your eyes from a ruptured hose can be very shocking and disorienting.
Stulmacher@reddit
Someone add Benny hill music please
sikon024@reddit
*reduce music track speed to 30%*
RobbinAustin@reddit
The lack of GAF with jet fuel spraying around is mind boggling. Why wouldn’t you immediately run to kill the pump?!
Efficient_Tap_7899@reddit
How long did it take for the fueling crew to shut it down?
VanillaTortilla@reddit
Looked like 45sec or so
KONUG@reddit
Bro yeah, hit emergency stop when you've got time... don't hurry.
VanillaTortilla@reddit
That was a good 45 seconds of fuel coming out while he wandered around, and everyone else disappeared.
Charlie_5-3@reddit
He clearly has some in his eyes and is both blinded and disoriented
RdtRanger6969@reddit
Lemmie just wipe off my face while DFW shuts down & becomes a Superfund site.🙄
SouthFromGranada@reddit
Jitterbug
Strict_Lettuce3233@reddit
Foam stat
Fair_Pomegranate9273@reddit
well there will be a safety meeting. there should have been a Deadman switch not actuated. more than likely as I have seen a lot of fuelers have done to expedite time and how they have been trained park the truck, or as soon as you get to the point set the deadman and hook up the hose so as soon as the hose is hooked up it starts fueling and you can disconnect it when it's full wind up the hose and get back inside. instead of hooking up walking back to the point or truck and squeezing/pushing and holding the deadman switch until the plane is filled. it's what happens with poor training and complacency and when the airlines want to cut corners and rush to make more money. well now it cost them the fuel, the environmental clean up, hopefully the fueler can cover his tail because he can say that was the way he was "trained" but that will not hold much because he was not following written procedures corporate will make an example out of him. So if anyone is looking for work at DFW I am certain there are about to be several openings at a certain airline and just because you see the big name on the side of the plane, that's not the official name of the actual airline it's actually another airline that runs those planes. Just not certain which regional it might be.
Dr_Explosion_MD@reddit
Looks like the nozzle wasn’t installed correctly. Monthly we take these apart to inspect the screens inside. The other question is was the deadman bypassed? There is no reason for it to continue to pump like that. Why did it take so long to hit the Estop? Something is serious wrong with the safety culture with this fuel vendor.
Decisionparalysis101@reddit
Gate agent: "There will be a delay in boarding. We are not sure what the issue is or how long the delay will be. We will update you when we know anything"
avid-shtf@reddit
Looks like he’s not wearing the proper personal protective equipment.
This should probably be a two person job at a minimum.
He’s definitely going to lose his job over this.
I remember loading and unloading hazardous materials, chemicals, and flammables. If you were injured and/or caused a significant spill due to your own failure to follow procedures then it’s your fault and depending on the size of the incident, would almost always be fired for this.
ShimazuMitsunaga@reddit
Dumb question: Do the airlines or airports use automated fuel handling via SCADA setup?
Bubbly_Version1098@reddit
Anyone got a light?
Main_Concern_5539@reddit
Don't trap the deadman
juiceball9@reddit
lol at dfw some pull carts will pump by themselves
WildTomato51@reddit
A fuel mech who doesn’t know what to do in case of emergency.
Fucking brilliant.
airport-codes@reddit
I am a bot.
^(If you are the OP and this comment is inaccurate or unwanted, reply below with "bad bot" and it will be deleted.)
Bindolaf@reddit
Good bot!
TheTangoFox@reddit
A harmless Jet-A fight
Suspicious-Ask5557@reddit
Turn it off you moron. I hope they fired him.
has_potential@reddit
Guarantee this guy lists "quick decision making" and "handles stressful conditions well" as strengths in interviews.
Bradjuju2@reddit
A full minute to hit the emergency shutoff!?! Also, where’s the drama switch!? Was it tied off?
On_Speed@reddit
That’s exactly the reason why you should always wear goggles. 😂 Even if you look like a muppet.
A_Time1980@reddit
The lack of urgency by that guy to hit the emergency kill on that line is astonishing.
Bells0212@reddit
Think he might have had a face full of fuel and was understandably disoriented
A_Time1980@reddit
I understand initially. But he walked over to the pump and was right in front of the emergency shut-off switch and didn’t hit it.
AxelsOG@reddit
He needs a job that doesn’t require reflexes or safety equipment. Hopefully he got fired. This is a massive safety issue.
Left-Lawfulness-2040@reddit
Well he’s definitely fired. Does anyone know what really happened? Did he not make the connection properly or did it break?
SadPhase2589@reddit
Fallen apple cart! Report the numbers of bushels spilling.
shit_ass_mcfucknuts@reddit
Do the people operating it not know how to turn it off? WTF.
Strat7855@reddit
Forbidden slip and slide
WasWasKnot@reddit
Just Water!
effortornot7787@reddit
Looks like the hose blew off the coupler (the part that is still on the plane) once it was pressurized. perhaps this is due to a valvle not opening to let the fuel into the tanks. Not sure if this is an automated or manual process.
SoCallMeDeaconBlues1@reddit
This is scary as fuck. I'm glad it didn't turn into a MUCH bigger incident.
Content_Valuable_428@reddit
B732C@reddit
galloping_skeptic@reddit
Most of the equipment I've ever used flows about 250 gallons per minute wide open. This video shows just under 60 seconds of fuel flow...
f1mike@reddit
Clearly there is no safety protocol for something like this. Relying on one person to be able to press the emergency shut off is not a protocol.
DanLewisFW@reddit
Still surely he could comprehend the need to do that!
CurrentSkill7766@reddit
Multiple failures on the equipment resulting employee injury, emergency hazards and environmental issues - followed by a minute of confused and delayed reaction.
This will be quite the incident report.
Eeebs-HI@reddit
Someone may need retraining.
LefsaMadMuppet@reddit
If he can even see clearly after this. Retina damage from fuel in your eyes is a major issue.
Renchose@reddit
Jet fuel isn't as flammable as some of you may think. It takes a lot more energy to ignite than regular petrol. Of course, it is incredibly dangerous when ignited but this situation hasn't gotten to that point and there's no indication of such energy being delivered.
RandomNightmar3@reddit
You can throw a cigarette butt in it and nothing will happen.
BUT, let it spray on 4/500 degrees brakes and it's a great fireworks show!
Evening-Web-3038@reddit
You had one job!
WirelessWavetable@reddit
That's crazy. It looks like the hose ruptured and part of the hose is still dangling from the wing.
blackglum@reddit
God these guys are idiots. Fire them.
Efficient_Sky5173@reddit
Guy on the other plane: Geoff always fucking things up. I’m not gonna be late AGAIN because of him. I will finish my refueling. I’m hungry and need to hit to McDonalds.
QuattroOrBust@reddit
Paid hourly even in an emergency.
Area51_Spurs@reddit
Gas fight!
v1rotatev2@reddit
And kids that is why should wear eye protection when dealing with dangerous goods
ktrezzi@reddit
I just looked this up (but didn't cross check!) that a plane can be fueled up to 1000l/h, 1l kerosene is 0.98 USD.
Seems kind of affordable?
Does anyone have insights on the follow up cost? Cleaning? Refilling? Delay penalty (?)) Potential delays for other flights? Is stuff like that insured? By whom? Who is responsible in the end? Tank crew? Company that hired the tank crew?
Falkun_X@reddit
The RED fucking button...PLEASE!!
Rockstar0808@reddit
Ice hussle by staff to control the situation.
TidePodsTasteFunny@reddit
What a fucking idiot