Narrative:

On our originator; I noticed the aircraft had two recent logbook discrepancies due to fuel leaking during engine start. I made a mental note to review the procedure for motoring the engine in case we had a leak during start as well. I got a little behind during my flight preparation and the procedure review slipped my mind. At pushback the number two engine started normally. During the number one engine start and soon after ignition; I noticed a very strong smell of fuel. As I looked outside at the tug driver (they were at an angle preparing to disconnect) I noticed the ramp agent riding on the tug yank the headset from the driver and inform us that we had a severe fuel leak on the number one engine. I asked how bad the leak was; and he said the engine was pumping fuel onto the ground and to look out my window. I noticed a pool of fuel on the ground that started out my window and continued toward the now running engine. With the strong smell of fuel; a very anxious ramp agent on the interphone and visual conformation of a fairly major fuel spill; I instructed the first officer to abort the engine start. We accomplished the aborted engine start checklist and motored the engine. We searched for the procedure for a fuel leak during engine start; and found that we were supposed to run the engine at idle instead of aborting the start and motoring it. The fuel that spilled onto the ground was big enough that I was uncomfortable attempting another start; but after contacting mx control; we determined that another engine start was a reasonable course of action. As we were blocking the alleyway; ATC asked us to clear the alleyway for other traffic as we worked our issue. They also noticed the large fuel spill and called airport ops to check it out and after seeing the amount of fuel; they called the fire department. I estimated the leak to be at least 40 x 8 feet.we towed the aircraft back to the gate to clear the area for ATC and attempted another engine start. On this attempt; the engine failed to ignite; so we aborted that start and coordinated with mx control for contract mx to come check it out. I coordinated with mx control on the proper write-up for the logbook. Since I did not accomplish the proper procedure during the original fuel leak (motored the engine versus idling it) they instructed me to write it up for the ignition issue versus the fuel leak for now and if it leaked again we would do the proper procedure and make the appropriate logbook entry at that time. Contract mx successfully attempted the number one engine start and signed off the discrepancy. We flew the aircraft for two legs with no issues.prevention: I don't recall seeing anywhere the allowable amount of fuel that could leak during a start. In my mind it would not have been anywhere near the amount of fuel that leaked during our start attempt. I think a note should be added to the procedure to better prepare the flight deck crew as to what they might expect to see. That would help us calm a panicked ground crew and also help us with our decision making. Also; I should have immediately stopped my preflight flow and reviewed the procedure since the aircraft had a history of fuel leaks during start issues. Had I been better prepared and done the procedure correctly; the leak may have stopped and been a non-issue.'

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737-700 flight crew reported a severe fuel leak during engine start and aborted the start due to the large amount of fuel on the ground versus the correct procedure of idling the engine. Maintenance successfully started the engine and signed off the discrepancy.

Narrative: On our originator; I noticed the aircraft had two recent logbook discrepancies due to fuel leaking during engine start. I made a mental note to review the procedure for motoring the engine in case we had a leak during start as well. I got a little behind during my flight preparation and the procedure review slipped my mind. At pushback the number two engine started normally. During the number one engine start and soon after ignition; I noticed a very strong smell of fuel. As I looked outside at the Tug Driver (they were at an angle preparing to disconnect) I noticed the Ramp Agent riding on the tug yank the headset from the driver and inform us that we had a severe fuel leak on the number one engine. I asked how bad the leak was; and he said the engine was pumping fuel onto the ground and to look out my window. I noticed a pool of fuel on the ground that started out my window and continued toward the now running engine. With the strong smell of fuel; a very anxious Ramp Agent on the interphone and visual conformation of a fairly major fuel spill; I instructed the FO to abort the engine start. We accomplished the Aborted Engine Start Checklist and motored the engine. We searched for the procedure for a fuel leak during engine start; and found that we were supposed to run the engine at idle instead of aborting the start and motoring it. The fuel that spilled onto the ground was big enough that I was uncomfortable attempting another start; but after contacting MX Control; we determined that another engine start was a reasonable course of action. As we were blocking the alleyway; ATC asked us to clear the alleyway for other traffic as we worked our issue. They also noticed the large fuel spill and called Airport Ops to check it out and after seeing the amount of fuel; they called the Fire Department. I estimated the leak to be at least 40 x 8 feet.We towed the aircraft back to the gate to clear the area for ATC and attempted another engine start. On this attempt; the engine failed to ignite; so we aborted that start and coordinated with MX Control for contract MX to come check it out. I coordinated with MX Control on the proper write-up for the logbook. Since I did not accomplish the proper procedure during the original fuel leak (motored the engine versus idling it) they instructed me to write it up for the ignition issue versus the fuel leak for now and if it leaked again we would do the proper procedure and make the appropriate logbook entry at that time. Contract MX successfully attempted the number one engine start and signed off the discrepancy. We flew the aircraft for two legs with no issues.Prevention: I don't recall seeing anywhere the allowable amount of fuel that could leak during a start. In my mind it would not have been anywhere near the amount of fuel that leaked during our start attempt. I think a note should be added to the procedure to better prepare the Flight deck Crew as to what they might expect to see. That would help us calm a panicked Ground Crew and also help us with our decision making. Also; I should have immediately stopped my Preflight Flow and reviewed the procedure since the aircraft had a history of fuel leaks during start issues. Had I been better prepared and done the procedure correctly; the leak may have stopped and been a non-issue.'

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.