From the ABC Sat, Jan 22 2000 CASA: all light plane owners suffering from contamination The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) says many light plane owners and operators not involved in the fuel contamination crisis are suffering because people are boycotting light aircraft. CASA says the crisis has created an unnecessary fear of flying and almost all planes in Western Australia, South Australia, the Northern Territory and far north Queensland are safe. Spokesman Peter Gibson says aircraft in Victoria and New South Wales which did not use Mobil fuel during the contamination period are also safe. He is urging people to go flying this weekend. "Unfortunately a lot of the light aircraft owners and operators that are still able to fly because they never used the contaminated fuel are suffering because people are boycotting light aircraft at the moment," Mr Gibson said. "They're simply worried that perhaps there might be something wrong with those aircraft. "The simple message is the aircraft flying now are perfectly safe, they've never used the contaminated fuel, so get up there in them have a fly his weekend and enjoy the experience." .................................................................................. From the ABC Sun, Jan 23 2000 Fuel crisis nears end as test given all clear The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) says aircraft engineers should start receiving a testing procedure for small aircraft contaminated in the fuel crisis by tomorrow. Professor David Trimm, on behalf of CASA, successfully trialled the test at Sydney's Bankstown airport today, and says it will be able to show which aircraft are not contaminated. CASA's director of Aviation Safety, Mick Toller, says the next step is to come up with a cleaning process, which should be ready within a couple of days. He says the test requires a kit which can be used to check about 100 aircraft. "We've had it independently validated by Professor David Trimm, he's given the all clear today," he said. "This test is reliable. It can be done by engineers in the field and it will tell us those aircraft which are definitely not contaminated." General manager of the Aircraft Owners and Operators Association, Mike Hart, says the crisis may have cost between $50 and $100 million. "While I'm optimistic there'll be quite a few back in the air by the end of the week, the main priority will be the ones that are not showing signs of contamination," he said. "We still have this problem that we had at the very beginning of cleaning out that contamination then they would have to be retested before they get back in the air." Fuel company Mobil says it will take about 48 hours to assemble to 1,000 kits required. White gel Meanwhile, Mobil says it is puzzled by CASA's comments about the grounding of planes being linked to a white gel in aircraft fuel systems. The oil company says it has never confirmed the existence of the substance in planes. Samantha Potts from Mobil, says the second recommendation to ground aircraft came from the rediscovery of black deposits in a fuel system which had already been cleaned. "The white, or the second, form of the contamination wasn't the reason for our recommendation for a second grounding," she said. "The reason for that was further evidence of black deposits which suggested residual contamination in aircraft." ................................................................................ From THe Australian Planes cleared but pilots fuming By NICOLE STRAHAN and MEGAN SAUNDERS 24jan00 THOUSANDS of aircraft are set to return to the skies today after a white substance discovered in fuel contamination tests a fortnight ago was yesterday found to be harmless. Pilots and plane owners are livid that the apparently unnecessary grounding of aircraft by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority since January 10 left planes idle and businesses crippled. CASA said yesterday its concerns over the white gel-like material found in contamination tests of Mobil fuel had been a furphy, but defended the decision to ground aircraft, citing safety as its paramount concern. About 1000 test kits were being forwarded to light plane owners today to clear aircraft to immediately resume flying, CASA said. "It appears the white gel is harmless, a complete and utter furphy," CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said. Later in the day, CASA director Mick Toller defended the authority's decision to ground aircraft from the day Mobil notified it that a white substance had been found in tests for contamination. "If you're going to get it wrong, always get it wrong on the safe side," Mr Toller said. "My belief is that we didn't, that it was a sensible precaution, but I am delighted that we are now able to give the ability for some aircraft to get back in the air." Aircraft Owners and Operators general manager Mike Hart said plane owners remained sceptical despite CASA's assurance the white substance was harmless and the tests were valid. "I think we are shocked and appalled that after two weeks of considerable experimentation, testing and soul searching that the white substance turns out to be supposedly harmless and there are concerns about the quality of that advice," Mr Hart said. The contaminated fuel crisis has grounded up to 5000 small planes across eastern Australia and cost the aviation industry possibly $100 million. Mobil has promised to compensate affected businesses through a $15 million hardship package, but class actions are on the legal horizon. The fuel problem has had severe ramifications for businesses in regional Australia that depend on small planes for produce, medical supplies and tourism. Despite the approval of tests, thousands of aircraft may remain grounded for at least a week if they are found to have a black Vegemite-like substance discovered in fuel systems just before Christmas, the original catalyst for concerns over the contamination of a batch of Mobil fuel. Mobil moved swiftly yesterday to defend itself against accusations it had botched testing procedures. "The white substance was never a reason for any of our action. It was just a piece of information that there was possibly a second form of the deposits," Mobil spokeswoman Samantha Potts said yesterday. Acting Prime Minister John Anderson yesterday supported CASA's approach to the crisis. "I know the delay has been frustrating, but we all recognise that CASA cannot cut corners when lives are at stake," he said. ................................................................................ From the ABC Mon, 24 Jan. CASA chief red-faced after test flight stalls A planned demonstration flight to prove the official aviation fuel contamination test is effective has ended in anti-climax for the head of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). Mick Toller had assembled a media conference on the tarmac at Canberra Airport for what would have been the first plane cleared by the test since 5,000 aircraft were grounded on January 10. But after climbing into the cockpit, Mr Toller was told by engineers that parts had been taken off the plane and it could not be flown. A disappointed Mr Toller got out of the pilot's seat, insisting the contamination test was safe. ................................................................................ From the ABC Mon, 24 Jan. Mobil plans to fight aircraft owners' compo bid Mobil says it will fight against legal action taken over the contaminated aviation fuel crisis. Writs were filed in the Federal Court and the Supreme Court in Melbourne today, seeking millions of dollars from the oil company on behalf of thousands of pilots, aircraft owners and aviation operators. Mobil's Samantha Potts says the action is disappointing. "We're particularly disappointed given the announcements we made towards the end of last week, firstly in relation to a $15 million program to provide financial support in an immediate sense, but also but also we comitted to establish a further program to address the direct business losses," she said. "The details of that haven't been announced yet, yet we are having legal action. If the action is launched against us then we have no choice but to fight it." Tests fail Meanwhile, Victorian aircraft operators are becoming increasingly disheartened as planes undergoing testing for contaminated fuel fail to pass. Testing is underway at Melbourne's Moorabbin and Essendon airports. Moorabbin operators group spokesman Max Quartermain says testing is a waste of time and the limited number of test kits is slowing the process. "I think that even if we had 500 kits on the airport it would just mean that all 280 planes would have been tested by now and we probably still would have had a 100 per cent fail rate," he said. "I think the tests are useless. The tests are telling us what we already know - that the aircraft are contaminated. It's not solving our problem." ................................................................................. From the ABC Tue, 25 Jan. Aircraft fuel test may affect warranties The Cival Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has released its approved proceedures for decontaminating aircraft affected by contaminated avgas fuel. CASA has warned aircraft owners the procedure has not been approved by aircraft manufacturers and could affect warranties and insurance. Spokesman Peter Gibson says water must be flushed through empty fuel tanks. Then a water scavenging mixture is used to remove moisture and a number of engine parts are removed and inspected. "It's n procedure which CASA's engineers and leading engineers from the aviation industry have been working on now for a number of weeks," he said. "We've also been consulting closely with the aircraft manufacturers to get their views on these proceedures. "Everybody agrees it is safe to use water to get rid of the contamination out of the fuel system." ................................................................................. From the ABC Tue, 25 Jan. Howard supports legal action against Mobil The Prime Minister, John Howard, says he understands why people affected by aviation fuel contamination are looking for legal advice. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has released procedures to clean aircraft grounded due to Mobil fuel contamination. Mr Howard says the Government is pressing the authorities and Mobil to come up with the necessary tests and procedures. On the ABC's AM program, Mr Howard has expressed sympathy for those people dependent on the aviation industry. "I feel deeply for the pilots and the operators and all of those people associated, and I can understand that they would be looking to the appropriate people for legal advice," he said. ................................................................................. From the ABC Tue, 25 Jan. Posted: 12:58pm AEDT Mobil to pay customers' aircraft cleaning bill Mobil will pay for the cleaning of its customers' aircraft fuel systems affected by contamination. Mobil made the announcement just before midday AEDT and will also pay for the costs associated with carrying out the testing. Meanwhile, the head of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has defended the fuel contamination test and cleaning procedure, amid strong criticism from the industry. CASA has authorised a stringent cleaning process to return contaminated planes to the skies. The aviation industry has complained that the contamination test is so sensitive that it is failing planes with very low levels of contamination, which may have been picked up before the serious outbreak in November. CASA director Mick toller says the safety authority is looking at the situation, but says the threshold for a pass or fail has been set with safety in mind. CASA has issued a check list to the industry on how to clean contaminated planes. Mr Toller says some planes will take weeks to clear, while more simple aircraft might fly within days. He says after a delay over night, Mobil hopes to send hundreds of tests kits throughout the country today ............................................................................ From The Courier Mail Fuel test nightmare for pilots By CHRIS JONES 25jan'00 THE aviation industry had its worst fears realised yesterday after a test designed to get aircraft back in the air revealed massive and widespread contamination of engines. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority last night confirmed only five planes out of 90 tested across the country by late yesterday had been cleared to fly. The results mean operators face another agonising wait of up to a month as engineers clean contaminated aircraft and replace damaged parts. In an added embarrassment, the head of CASA – which ordered the tests – was forced to cancel a flight for the media after he discovered the plane was unfit to fly. CASA director Mick Toller had promised to fly the first aircraft cleared of the Mobil fuel contamination to restore confidence in the industry. But the public relations scheme failed to get off the ground as one of the plane's engines had been dismantled. Engineers at Brisbane's Archerfield Airport had tested six planes by late yesterday, with five returning contaminated results. The only plane cleared had been filled with Shell fuel. Pilots' frustration was aggravated by the failure of Mobil to distribute more than a handful of testing kits. Despite a pledge to have 500 tests available yesterday, a Mobil spokeswoman confirmed only four had been sent out by mid-afternoon. There were two kits in Queensland. Mobil promised a further 300 would be distributed by couriers overnight. But some components had to be ordered from overseas and the wait could be extended. Mobil yesterday faced two class actions, seeking more than $100million. In the Supreme Court of Victoria, a writ claiming tens of millions of dollars in compensation for pilots and firms hit by the crisis was lodged by class action specialists, Slater and Gordon. They were acting for 6500 members of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. About 80 companies operating 500 aircraft joined a $100million class action launched by law firm Maurice Blackman Cashman in the Federal Court. About 5000 planes have been grounded in a crisis estimated to have cost the aviation industry $100million. Mr Toller said a cleaning method would be available today for contaminated planes. But he said the cleaning process was not easy and would take 1 days for simple aircraft which needed fuel tanks and lines flushed out with water and damaged parts replaced. More complex aircraft needed engineers to develop individual cleaning procedures for each plane. Mr Toller said he hoped the entire testing and cleaning process would be completed by the end of the week, but operators remained sceptical. Royal Queensland Aero Club chief executive Gerard Campbell said it could take months before all planes were in the air again. "It will be difficult, if not impossible, to get parts; and the engineers will be run off their feet," he said. He estimated 90percent of light planes at Archerfield would be contaminated. "It really is our worst fears realised," Mr Campbell said. "Very few aircraft out here will escape." ............................................................................... From the ABC Wed, 26 Jan. Aviators told compensation cheques are in the mail Aviation engineers are continuing to test light aicraft across Australia for contaminated fuel as operators wait for hardship payments from Mobil. Max Quartermain from the Moorabbin operators group says they are not included in a class action for compensation against the company and have been told their cheques are in the mail. "There was a representative of Mobil down at the airport all day yesterday and processing claims for financial hardship," he said. "We hope that with - we still haven't seen a cheque from that fund of $15 million but we're assured the cheques will start flowing if not today being a public holiday, certainly tomorrow and that will keep the operators going. "I'm fearful the group doing the class action may well and truly be out of business before the courts release any findings in their favour." Mr Quartermain says additional kits were delivered to Moorabbin overnight to continue the engine cleaning process. "The aircraft that have originally been tested earlier this week and proved to be contaminated are now going through the what they call the air directive 81 which is cleansing the contamination out of the fuel systems," he said. "We would expect aeroplanes to start flying either late this afternoon or tomorrow morning as long as the tests are cleared." ............................................................................... From the Courier Mail By CHRIS JONES 26jan00 Oil giant threat on fuel payouts AVGAS supplier Mobil yesterday warned aircraft operators who sued the company that they could miss out on future compensation. But as the oil giant escalated the war over compensation, it also had to admit a bungle over litmus paper had held up supplies of crucial fuel testing kits and forced longer delays in repairs. Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association general manager Mike Hart said the continued delays were infuriating. "If it wasn't so tragic I think the pilots would be tearing their hair out," Mr Hart said. In a tough response to two massive court proceedings against it, Mobil said those aircraft operators who joined the class actions would have compensation payments slowed if not revoked. Corporate affairs manager Alan Bailey said the court actions launched on Monday would "complicate the process of getting compensation for business losses into the hands of our customers". Mr Bailey said if any class action went ahead representing operators and pilots, Mobil would be precluded from making any further compensation payments. "If some customers are taking legal action against us, it places some limits on how we can deal with that in terms of the losses they've incurred," he said. But the money from the $15million hardship fund would not be threatened. Mr Bailey conceded the special litmus paper sent to airports on Monday to determine the presence of contaminated fuel could return contaminated results for clean aircraft. The discovery meant many grounded aircraft operators had to endure another frustrating wait yesterday as Mobil repackaged the 220 test kits. Mobil had promised to send out 500 test kits nationally by last night, but only a handful had arrived. Despite concerns over the kits, testing at Brisbane's Archerfield aerodrome continued yesterday, with only six planes cleared in 50 tests. "It's depressing, and getting worse by the minute," a spokeswoman for test firm Rapair Maintenance said. The crisis has grounded 5000 planes across the country and is estimated to have cost $100million. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority yesterday released procedures for cleaning contaminated planes, but the process was expected to take at least a day for each aircraft and cost about $15,000. Bigger planes with more complex fuel systems would take longer as some parts would have to be sent to the manufacturers. Under the procedure, contaminated aircraft would be flushed with water, followed by removal and inspection of fuel pumps, filters and carburettors, then re-testing of assembled engines, with possibly a repeat clean. Mobil pledged to pay for both the testing and cleaning. But some manufacturers warned that flushing aircraft engines with water could void their warranties. CASA also revealed there was fresh evidence that ethylene diamine contamination might have occurred earlier than previously thought. The dirty fuel had been thought to have been processed between November 21 and December 23 last year. But CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said two planes tested on Monday, which were known to be clear of contamination, revealed small traces of EDA. "It is quite possible that there has been low level EDA contamination at Mobil before November 21, but it doesn't seem to have caused a build up of the black substance which has been the cause of the problems," Mr Gibson said. .................................................................................. From AAP 26jan'00 Mobil misleading pilots, says lawyer 4.20pm (AEDT) A MELBOURNE lawyer says Mobil is trying to mislead and intimidate pilots and firms hit by the contaminated fuel crisis. Peter Gordon, from Slater & Gordon, says the company's recent statement that a customer's claim from Mobil's $15 million compensation package would be complicated if they pursued legal action was wrong. He said the law does not operate in the way that Mobil would have the public believe. The law firm lodged a writ on behalf of 6,500 members of the national Aircraft Owners and Pilots' Association in the Supreme Court last Monday. The firm has also written to Mobil urging negotiations. Mr Gordon said if Mobil refused to negotiate he would be asking the Supreme Court for a speedy trial on a claim running into tens of millions of dollars. The case is set down for a first hearing on February 4. A spokesperson for Mobil was not immediately available for comment. .................................................................................. From the ABC Thu, 27 Jan. Fraser 4WD business folds under fuel crisis A land-based Fraser Island tourism operator says it is shutting down its business because of the huge financial losses arising from the Mobil avgas contamination crisis. Fraser Beach 4WD company owner Ross McKay says his business relies almost completely on the visitors brought over by Fraser Island Air, which has been grounded for four weeks. Mr McKay says he will be applying for compensation under Mobil's hardship package. "I really do think Mobil should come to the party here," he said. "Our forms will be in in the next couple of days to Mobil Oil and our hardship claim and we'll just express that our work, or our operation on Fraser Island in 4WD hire, has been torn apart because of this fuel problem." .................................................................................. from the ABC Thu, 27'00 Minister defends CASA's contamination test The Federal Transport Minister, John Anderson, has defended the Civil Aviation Safety Authority's (CASA's) testing and cleaning procedures for planes with contaminated fuel. Aviation industry operators have criticised the official contamination test for being too sensitive, grounding planes which would be safe to fly. Mr Anderson says the test needs to be sensitive to detect the contaminant, EDA. He has also rejected calls to transfer responsibility for cleaning procedures from CASA to the aviation industry. .................................................................................. From the ABC Fri, 28 Jan. Pilots and engineers to meet over contamination test confusion Pilots and aircraft engineers will hold a meeting this afternoon at Bankstown Airport over their concerns with the testing program for contaminated aviation fuel. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association says some planes have shown positive readings for the contaminated fuel despite the fact they have not been filled with the tainted Mobil Avgas. The Association's Mike Hart says it is unclear if the test kit is at fault or the contamination is a result of something else. Mr Hart says this afternoon's meeting is a technical one which will not be looking at the poltical issues or attempting to lay blame. ..................................................................................