Are there designated fuel dumping areas in Belgium?

BRU-CPH · Post by **BRU-CPH** » 26 May 2005, 16:15

I recently heard this story:

Soon after take-off from Brussels (to the US), a passenger get quite ill on the flight. There was a doctor onboard the plane who advised the captain to return to Brussels, so the captain decided to make a U-turn to Brussels. But before landing, he had to dump fuel. To save time, he decided not to dump it above sea, but above the Ursel airfield (between Bruges and Ghent). Afterwards it was told that this is a designated dumping area, dating back from the early years of aviation, as the airfield was a kind of rescue one between Brussels and London.

Can someone confirm this?

This topic is of great interest to me as a forester, as the Ursel airfield is in the middle of the Drongengoed forest, one of the largest forest areas in the Province of Eastern Flanders. The oaks in this forest are in a quite bad state due to a common kind of oak disease. But the oaks in the neighbourhood of Ursel airfield are in a very bad condition. The story above can explain a lot.

Thanks for your comments!

matsATC · Post by **matsATC** » 26 May 2005, 18:04

Hi,

The following is written 'in the book':

Except in case of emergency, fuel jettisoning shall be carried out at 4500 MSL or above, over the North Sea.

In case of emergency, fuel jettisoning shall, whenever possible, not be carried out:
a) over the congested areas of cities, towns or settlements;
b) over holding patterns;
c) at less than 600m (2000ft) above other aircraft

Buzz · Post by **Buzz** » 27 May 2005, 00:47

I have read somewhere that fueldumping does not do much damage, because the amount per m² is really little...

BRU-CPH · Post by **BRU-CPH** » 28 May 2005, 15:15

matsATC wrote:Hi,

The following is written 'in the book':

Except in case of emergency, fuel jettisoning shall be carried out at 4500 MSL or above, over the North Sea.

In case of emergency, fuel jettisoning shall, whenever possible, not be carried out:
a) over the congested areas of cities, towns or settlements;
b) over holding patterns;
c) at less than 600m (2000ft) above other aircraft

Thanks for this answer. Off course, this is the theory. But in practice, probably, pilots choose areas such as Ursel airfiels as this is an (military) airfield, so they are quite sure not to annoy to much people?