Heads up: I caught a loose fuel line at a regional airport in Boise last month

I was doing a routine preflight on a Cessna 172 at the Boise airfield last month and spotted something off. The fuel line clamp on the right wing was barely hand tight, I could spin it with my fingers. Turns out a temp mechanic had swapped a filter the day before and forgot to torque it down. This could have been a fire hazard on takeoff if it loosened further. I checked four other planes on the ramp and found two more clamps that were loose too. Anyone else seeing this kind of shortcut work from contract mechanics lately?

3 comments

3 Comments

tarar277d ago

Gotta push back a little here. A loose fuel line clamp is definitely not great but calling it a guaranteed fire hazard on takeoff feels like a stretch. I've seen plenty of planes fly for years with clamps that weren't exactly torqued to spec, and the real risk is usually pretty low unless the line actually pops off.

xena3737d ago

Have you actually done a tug test on a hot engine after a long taxi? The clamps loosen up more than you'd think once everything gets heat soaked. @mila_perry13 is right about the FAA test, but that's just the starting point. I've had a clamp work loose after a few cycles of heat and vibration, and the line didn't pop off but it was spitting fuel down the side of the engine. That's vapor and fire risk right on a hot exhaust manifold, doesn't take a full blowout to cause trouble.

mila_perry137d agoMost Upvoted

Mila here - @tarar27, that hand tight clamp still failed a simple tug test per FAA guidance.