September 6, 2018
TO: ALL MILLION AIR DALLAS CUSTOMERS
Re: Diesel Exhaust Fluid Contamination Mitigation
Dear Customer:
As you have probably heard, there have been two instances of fuel contamination over the last several months where Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) was introduced into the Jet Fuel additive (PRIST / FSII) tank and subsequently injected into turbine aircraft fuel systems. These contamination events caused in-flight engine failures on as many as eight aircraft, but fortunately no loss of life. While neither of these instances occurred at Addison nor any Million Air locations, I thought it was important to let you know how we are safeguarding against the same issue here at Addison.
First, and most importantly, we do not operate any equipment requiring DEF here at Addison and therefore have no DEF stored on-site. We have recently updated our refueling equipment consciously ensuring that these trucks were built on chassis prior to the EPA-mandated DEF requirement.
Additionally, although we do not operate such equipment (nor do we plan to within the next 10 years) we have proactively put all our Line Service Professionals through DEF contamination prevention training via NATA.
Unless our industry is successful in rolling back the EPA mandate requiring new diesel engines to utilize DEF, it is inevitable that at some point all FBOs will be operating DEF-utilizing equipment. We welcome industry effort to roll back this mandate and eliminate this threat altogether.
I am including below a link to the NBAA description of the incidents and their call to mitigate this risk. If any of us can answer any questions or concerns, please never hesitate to reach out to us. Your safety is of the highest importance to all of us here at Million Air Dallas.
https://www.nbaa.org/ops/safety/nbaa-industry-examine-fuel-contamination-hazards-following-second-def-incident.php
Sincerely,
Jeff Zimmerman
Vice President – Director FBO Operations
(972) 733-5899
