Worzel_GummidgeI've never quite understood that logic.
Accident waiting to happen. Especially to espouse that lack of logic.
The Fuel Quantity Indicator is a reference instrument. Many factors can influence the Indication.
In a Hughes 269 or light recip helicopter, there would be no excuse for not
visually checking the Fuel Quantity before takeoff, verify it with the Gauge indication. In a turbine, like the Hughes 500, AS355, Jet ranger, Iroquois, more difficult, when the fuel is not lapping at the filler neck, but it should cause a Pilot to be more suspicious about the exact quantity and not trusting , what someone tells you, or what the gauge indicates. Is the aircraft level? Is the fuel cold soaked and more dense? When was the last calibration done, during maintenance? Have you ever noticed that your own body weight will change High Pressure versus Low Pressure? If you have never held an aircraft maintainer's licence and never serviced a Fuel measuring and indicating system, then you would not appreciate all the sh!t that can go wrong.
Going across the Pacific or any other large body of nothingness, Fuel Consumption versus Indication is checked very closely . . . at recorded. Elapsed Time is part of that equation.
Fuel Starvation accidents happen in all sizes and weights of aircraft, fixed and rotary, far too often. You as the Pilot-in-Command or Co- must know the rate of fuel consumption or have a damned good idea what your aircraft's fuel consumption is for various configurations, various weights, various altitudes/FLs, Heater On vs Off, Engine Anti-ice On vs. Off, APU On and for how long (under load or not), build-up of frost and ice causing drag, outside air temperature, etc. It takes time to know your aircraft AND, each aircraft of the same type, same engine model, will have a different Fuel Consumption, if only slightly.
ATSB is spot on, in this instance.
When a Pilot fails to follow the rules, use skills that should have been learned during
Helicopter/Aeroplane Flying 101 or use common sense, then expect C.A.S.A. to tighten the thumb screws . . . Just what the Australian aviation industry needs is more regulation! Christ!
Work out how much fuel is consumed:
Idle
Taxi-out
Climb to a particular Altitude or Flight Level
various Cruise conditions
Descent
Taxi-in
NEVER let some Chief Pilot or Owner tell you what you need for Fuel. YOU as Pilot-in-Command decide and not be pressured. YOU, as Pilot-in-Command/Captain discuss your decision-making with your Co=Pilot/First Officer.
When in doubt, divert to the nearest suitable airport or land even if in some farmer's field or on a ridgeline, or whatever, rather than trying to "stretch it". The more stress and pressure you put yourself under, the more likely you will fcuk up, because you will not be thinking clearly.
You guys and your attitudes set me off.