What kind of gasoline does a commercial airplane use?

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What kind of gasoline does a commercial airplane use? If you ever wondered this, here the answer.

Taking the opportunity of a new media buzz and controversial video circulating on Twitter about an apparent fuel spill on a ATR42 de Tame EP at Guayaquil airport, I make this post where I will clarify some details about this special jet fuel.

The video in question:

#Urgent RETWEET!
The lack of resources in @Tame_EP is unsustainable and irresponsible! @Lenin yesterday a passenger filmed the fuel puddle on a plane ready to take off GYE – UIO, Thanks to the protest of the passengers the flight was canceled! #spread @DGAC_Ecuador @daloes10 pic.twitter.com/Ij7vsmFcJx

— Federation of politics (@Bundespolita) December 24, 2018

Although the tweet is exaggerated with political overtones, I saw several comments where they said that it is the same gasoline of a car, that it is highly flammable or that its smell is the same as the fuel that we all know, but the reality is different and it seemed appropriate to create a post to clarify some interesting details.

JET A1 jet fuel

Commercial airplanes mainly use JET A1 fuel, but little by little the use of vegetable-derived biofuels is increasing.

As long as this is the most used fuel, it is important to know its technical characteristics that make it highly safe for the entire airline industry.

This fuel is used in jet and turboprop aircraft., being a little cheaper than AVGAS.

• Its color is almost transparent or pale yellow..
• It is a kerosene derived from petroleum.
• Its freezing or ignition points are different from traditional fuel.
• Su punto de congelación es de -47° C.
• Its flash point is 38 ° C (point at which fuel is ignited by a heat source such as fire).
• Punto de autoignición 201° C (point at which fuel ignites without the aid of a heat source).
• Contains antistatic additive.

What makes it safer for the industry is its high freezing point, which, given the height where the aircraft operates, allows operation without the need for additives, and its ignition point., that despite its generated power, in case of plane crash or problems, its ignition time or flame is slower than a traditional fuel, giving a longer response time.

Another difference is its smell, which is more remarkable when it has already gone through the engine ignition process, olor que mucha gente en la industria aérea disfruta por un característico «dulce».

The composition of the JET A1 comes after years of tests and evolution of the engines until having found a mixture that provides greater security in case of contingencies along with performance and reliability..

Fuel spill

Returning to Ecuador and the case mentioned at the beginning of this post, The airline has not yet presented an official statement and we will not know if it will, but analyzing the video, some doubts are generated.

• Indeed, below the plane is a puddle of an unidentified liquid, but which is also seen in some sections below the tail, place where gasoline should not be since the tanks are only in the wings.
• there could be a smell, but this could be remnants from the refueling process or from another nearby vehicle, as mentioned jet fuel has a different odor that the average person would not necessarily identify as gasoline.
• Yes, there could have been a fuel spill from either the tanker or the plane, but this should have been alerted to the authorities so that the corresponding cleaning can be carried out according to RDAC 153 with dry or liquid elements with chemical elements that prevent it from adhering.

This fact has been clarified by Tame EP with the following official statement:

#announcement official of @Tame_EP sobre el vídeo que circula sobre la fuga de combustible de un ATR42-500 este fin de semana pasado ▶️ https://t.co/IhtM5cFImi pic.twitter.com/uOjZ6rssEA

— Nicholas Larenas ✈️ (@n_larenas) December 26, 2018

And incidentally also clarify that flying in a propeller plane does not make it dangerous and less is a plane, as comments were also seen on social networks after this incident, part of the lack of aeronautical culture.

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