Regional Jet 200 ER/LR (CRJ200)
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine
Situational Awareness; Communication Breakdown; Physiological - Other
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor
General Maintenance Action; General Flight Cancelled / Delayed
Human Factors
Due to scheduling notification issues; the First Officer was not at the aircraft until after the fuel spill cleanup was completed. Upon starting the interior preflight; I noticed a fuel smell; which is fairly common during aircraft pressure fueling. I exited the jetway and noticed fuel on the ramp; which I initially thought was water draining from the jetway air conditioning unit. When I proceeded to the right side of the aircraft; I saw that the refuel manhole was gushing fuel. I yelled 'Hey!' at the fueling agent at the exact moment a ramper behind me yelled something at fueler. I immediately removed power at the jetway control panel; then ran up into the aircraft and removed all power in the cockpit. The next thing I did was a big mistake. I went into the cabin to retrieve my roller board which I had stowed in an aft overhead bin. The fumes in the cabin were overwhelming and I got an immediate headache. The fumes were due to the jetway air conditioning hose being fuel soaked. I did not think to turn the jetway air conditioning off. I then exited the aircraft using the jetway. Once in the terminal; I called [Dispatch] to report the problem. While making my way thru the [Dispatch] phone menu; I took a call from Scheduling and I asked them to relay the event information to the Bridge. A Ramp Supervisor came up into the terminal to give me an update on their progress. He said they reported a 4 gallon spill. I told him it was more like 30 to 50 gallons. He said anything over 4 required too much paperwork. (You can't make this stuff up!!) The headache cleared with two aspirin. Fire trucks and the spill response team worked the issue. I sent pictures of the left side of the spill to the [Dispatch] [and] Duty Pilot as requested. I could not get right side pictures from the terminal and I had no desire to get another strong whiff of the fuel. On the right side of the aircraft; the spill extended well out into the roadway. I have experience as an aviation accident investigator and I would say the spill was at least 30 gallons. After the First Officer made it to the gate; I briefed him on the situation. The post-cleanup fuel dried up much quicker than I expected and we then departed normally.1. All ramp personnel should not be under-reporting spills. Somebody obviously did the right thing and called the Fire Rescue and cleanup personnel; but calling a spill this large '4 gallons' is systemically unsafe. 2. Perhaps a reminder to all personnel to not enter the aircraft if the cabin is fuel fume saturated. I could have easily been overcome; passed out; or worse. I once investigated an accident involving a confined space fuel fume death. I should have known better. The fumes were quickly dispersed and I didn't need my bag that bad.
CRJ-200 Captain reported fume event during preflight due to large fuel spill while refueling.