AN ATR CAPT MISREAD THE ACFT'S INCLINOMETER VALUES OF A MINUS VERSUS A PLUS WHILE COMPUTING FUEL REMAINING IN THE R WING TANK. THE R FUEL GAUGE AND R LOW LEVEL LIGHT WERE MEL'ED; REQUIRING A MANUAL CALCULATION OF FUEL IN THE R TANK. UPON ARR AT DEST ARPT THE R TANK WAS EMPTY; A NEAR FUEL STARVATION SIT.

Narrative

ATR 42 HAD R FUEL GAUGE AND LOW LEVEL LIGHT DEFERRED AS PER MEL. R TANK WOULD SHOW LOW AND HAD LOW FUEL LIGHT ON SOMETIMES. I MISFIGURED THE FUEL ON DEP. VERY EASY TO DO. PROCS: 1) LOOK AT 'UNITS' ON MAGNA STICK. 2) LOOK AT INCLINOMETER TO INTERPRET MAGNA STICK. 3) CONVERT UNITS ON STICK TO GALLONS USING GRAPH BASED ON #1 AND #2 ABOVE. 4) CONVERT GALLONS TO LBS. 5) SUBTRACT #4 FROM LBS DESIRED IN THAT WING. 6) CONVERT #5 TO GALLONS AND HAVE FUELER PUT THAT MUCH IN. 7) STEPS #1-4 AGAIN TO VERIFY. I INTERPRETED GAUGE AS READING -1. SHOULD HAVE BEEN +1; BECAUSE THE WING I WAS CHKING WAS THE HIGH WING. THE DIFFERENCE ON THE GRAPH MEANT I HAD 800 LBS IN THAT WING VERSUS 1600 LBS. I BURNED ALMOST THAT MUCH ENRTE PER SIDE. STICK SHOWED DRY TANK IN MSN. HAD LOW GAUGE TO LOW FUEL LIGHT; BUT THEY WERE DEFERRED. BAD SIT. NONE OF OUR PLTS I TALKED TO REALIZED THIS AND THEY WOULD HAVE READ IT THE SAME AS I DID. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATED THAT THE PROCS FOR THIS TYPE OP WERE GIVEN AT INITIAL QUALIFICATION AND THAT THE MANUAL REFING THIS PROC IS VERY WEAK IN ITS PRESENTATION. AFTER THIS INCIDENT HE WENT BACK INTO THE MANUAL AND HAD TO WORK THE PROB 3 OR 4 TIMES TO UNDERSTAND WHERE HE HAD ERRED. HE HAD SPOKEN WITH 3 OR 4 OTHER CAPTS ON THIS SUBJECT AND GOT MOSTLY BLANK STARES. THE CAPT THAT PICKED UP THIS ACFT FROM THE RPTR WAS PRESENTED THIS SIT AND HAD AN 'OFF THE WALL' ANSWER; AGAIN INDICATING LITTLE OR NO KNOWLEDGE OF THIS OP BY THE ACR'S FLCS. THE RPTR ADDED THAT THE CREWS SOMETIMES DO THIS ONCE OR TWICE A YR AND MOST LIKELY WHEN THERE ARE PAX ABOARD OR IN BAD WX; EITHER EVENT ADDING TO THE URGENCY OF THE CALCULATIONS. THIS INCLINOMETER IS LOCATED BY THE HYD ACCESS PANEL ON THE L SIDE OF THE ACFT BY THE PAX DOOR; INDICATING ANY VARIANCE FROM A WINGS LEVEL POS. 1 MECH SAID THAT HE NEVER USES THAT INCLINOMETER; SIMPLY JACKING THE ACFT TO A WINGS LEVEL POS SO AS TO PRECLUDE READING A PLUS WHEN IT SHOULD BE A MINUS. RPTR SUGGESTS THAT THE MEL NOT ALLOW A DEFERRAL OF THE FUEL GAUGES OR LOW LEVEL LIGHTS; SINCE THE CREWS ARE SO PRONE TO MISAPPLYING THE CORRECTION FACTORS AND LEAVING WITH IMPROPER FUEL LEVELS. HE WAS ASKED TO CONFER WITH HIS ACR RELATIVE TO THEIR OPERATING PROCS.