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Crash Plane `had Odd Fuel Gauge'

Newcastle Herald

Saturday July 29, 2000

THE Whyalla Airlines plane involved in a fatal crash had an unusual fuel-flow gauge that had caused problems in the past, a tribunal was told yesterday.

The airline is appealing to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to overturn a grounding put in place by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).

The grounding followed the crash of one of the company's twin-engine Piper Chieftains off the South Australian coast on May 31 this year, which killed all eight people aboard.

Former Whyalla Airlines chief pilot David Usher said another of the company's pilots had run out of fuel in the same Piper Chieftain several years ago because of difficulties reading the gauge.

He said the fuel-flow gauge was a lot different to the other Chieftains, it was a lot lower.

© 2000 Newcastle Herald

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