Regional Jet 700 ER/LR (CRJ700)
Situational Awareness
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Ground Event / Encounter Other / Unknown
Aircraft; Company Policy; Human Factors
I was working on an aircraft when I saw fuel leaking out of the aircraft wing on the adjacent gate. The fuel was all over the ground and was also under the belt loader in the aft pit of a CRJ700. A small size fuel spill. I ran over and told the fueler to stop fueling the plane. I also told the ramp service to come out from the pit of the airplane. I called operations and asked them to call the fire department so they could give us clearance to move the belt loader because it was running. Supervisor came out to look at the fuel and said to me that the spill was '2 gallons of fuel and it was okay to load the plane' I told the supervisor that fuel was under the belt loader and if there was any kind of spark from the belt loader we wouldn't want that. I wanted to wait for the fire department to tell us it was okay to move the belt loader so the fuelers could clean up the fuel under the belt loader and safety was our number one priority and that loading the airplane with fuel under the running belt loader was not safe. The supervisor said 'it was okay'; I feel this was not safe.
A ramp person detects a fuel spill under the aircraft on the adjacent gate and advises the fueler to stop fueling and advises the company of the spill. The fuel spreads under a running belt loader but when a supervisor arrives on the scene; he believes the spill is not significant and everyone should get back to work.