Flameouts Are No Fun

There is this stuff called "diesel exhaust fluid". It's not supposed to be used as a fuel additive. Diesel engines don't like that.

But Murphy being the bastard that he is, DEF has been added into fuel stocks. it is really bad when it is added to Jet-A, which is essentially diesel fuel that is made to a higher purity level.

DEF has been found in Jet-A. What seems to be happening is that instead of adding anti-icing additive to Jet-A, the guys at the fuel farms at airports have added DEF.

A Cessna Citation made a deadstick landing last month because of DEF contamination.

For the jet drivers, the problem is that once DEF is in Jet-A, it's not detectable. If the FBO has mixed fuel additive with Jet-A in the refueling truck's tank, there's no way to know that they didn't accidentally add DEF. If it's done at the point of refueling, then the pilot can oversee the refueling. Which may be not much fun, but it's better than having one or all of your engines flameout in flight.