Contamination in pipelines can cause disasters

In 2009, a commercial jet liner had to declare an emergency and land at Hong Kong airport after its engines lost thrust due to contaminated fuel. The reasons for the contamination was because of salt water in the fuel which was loaded in the previous airport. The underground fueling system at that airport was being extended. During the commissioning, salt water in a new pipe entered the main fuel lines as the clearing procedures were inadequate. This caused the thrust problems in the engines. In our chemical process industry, we often line up equipment after repair/hydrotest. Any remnants of water could cause a catastrophic incident later. Make sure your commissioning and start up procedures address this.


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