FAA monitors emissions harm ahead of mandating unleaded aviation fuel

THE US Federal Aviation Administration is monitoring 23 American airports to determine the levels of lead emitted from jet fuel in a campaign to pressure the industry to use unleaded fuel, reports the Wichita Eagle of Kansas.

Walter Desrosier, vice president of engineering and maintenance for the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, an industry trade group, told a Wichita Aero Club luncheon that the pressure is on the industry to make a move.

Mr Desrosier said the No 1 source of lead emissions in the US today is general aviation aircraft. Another problem, he said, is supply, because there is only one plant that provides the additive tetra-ethyl lead, or TEL.

FAA funding to work towards a solution must continue, Mr Desrosier said, adding that the aviation industry wants the FAA to create a fuel development road map with information on viability, assessment, qualifications and certification of any new fuel and its deployment.

Alternatives must go through extensive evaluation and testing on aircraft and their engines. The impact on the plane's performance, temperature, weight and other areas must be studied, he said.

Mr Desrosier told the group that an alternative fuel's cost and the impact to airports and fixed base operators and on fuel production and distribution must also be evaluated.

Fuel producers, engine and aircraft manufacturers and others must come together to identify and implement a plan, he said, adding that there must also be standardised testing for qualification and certification data of fuel that would be used, he said.