Incident Overview
On May 27, a flight departed Phoenix for Fresno with 15,000 lbs of fuel. During descent through 31,600 ft, the master caution and the right inlet fuel pressure low lights illuminated.
Sequence of Events
The fuel quantity transfer circuit breaker was found tripped. When reset, the fuel quantity gauges went to zero. An emergency was declared to Albuquerque ARTCC, and the flight was vectored to Luke Air Force Base. The right engine flamed out at 24,000 ft and restarted at 10,000 ft. The aircraft landed at Luke AFB with both engines operating.
After both engines were shut down, the auxiliary power unit (APU) continued to operate for about 20 minutes before it shut down due to fuel exhaustion. Approximately 4-5/8 gallons of fuel remained aboard the aircraft.
Findings
No fuel was added at Fresno because the fuel gauges read 15,000 lbs. Investigation revealed that with the fuel quantity transfer circuit breaker out, the fuel gauges will stay in the position they were in when power is lost; however, the gauges will not test when the press-to-test button on the instrument panel is depressed. No malfunction of the aircraft's fuel quantity indicating system was found.