Narrative:

A B727-200 aircraft blocked into the gate as scheduled. Began set up to transfer fuel and called maintenance control and spoke with controller mr. 'X'. Told him that we would 'zero' the fuel amount in tank #1 and transfer that fuel to tanks #2 and #3. We also asked maintenance controller mr. 'X' what the final fuel load would be and told [him] that we would try to place correct amount of final fuel load into tanks #2 and #3; using fuel from tank #1; as it needed to be fueled to a known quantity due to the indication system was on MEL into ZZZ. Went to address other aircraft assignments.I did not receive; or did not hear; a call about the B727 aircraft being fueled to a known quantity and decided to drive by aircraft. Went into cockpit and saw that fuel slip had been filled out for all three tanks. Also saw that tank #1 showed being fueled to 8;800 pounds. It should be noted that the cockpit and wing #1 fuel quantity indication gauges read zero after block-in; with approximately 4;000 pounds. After transferring fuel in tank #1 to tanks #2 and #3; nothing seemed out of order when I saw 8;800 pounds. Of fuel load written by the fueler on the fuel slip for final load even though the guage still read zero.I did not speak to fueler and believed fuel slip to be correct. I am aware of company's fueling policies and should have been at aircraft when being fueled to a known quantity; but was addressing other aircraft and awaiting a call from maintenance control as to when B727 aircraft was to be fueled to a known quantity. When the aircraft returned to the gate the first time; after #1 engine shut down; I checked the #1 tank (drip) stick and knew then it had not been fueled as requested to a known quantity.at that time; the fuelers were called to place a known quantity of fuel into #1 tank. During second pushback; the flight crew received '0' fuel flow indication during #1 engine start and aircraft returned to gate. I suspected then at this point that there was air in the fuel line. I communicated this to my lead and it was decided to ground the aircraft for further evaluation.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Two Line Mechanics; one Captain; and a First and Second Officer report on their involvement with a B727-200 being released with the left wing #1 fuel tank empty. Aircraft returned to gate due to # 1 engine flamed-out prior to take-off. The cockpit and left wing fuel quantity gauges were previously deferred inoperative. Use of drip sticks to verify fuel amount was not an approved process.

Narrative: A B727-200 aircraft blocked into the gate as scheduled. Began set up to transfer fuel and called Maintenance Control and spoke with Controller Mr. 'X'. Told him that we would 'Zero' the fuel amount in tank #1 and transfer that fuel to tanks #2 and #3. We also asked Maintenance Controller Mr. 'X' what the final fuel load would be and told [him] that we would try to place correct amount of final fuel load into tanks #2 and #3; using fuel from tank #1; as it needed to be fueled to a known quantity due to the Indication System was on MEL into ZZZ. Went to address other aircraft assignments.I did not receive; or did not hear; a call about the B727 aircraft being fueled to a known quantity and decided to drive by aircraft. Went into cockpit and saw that fuel slip had been filled out for all three tanks. Also saw that tank #1 showed being fueled to 8;800 LBS. It should be noted that the cockpit and wing #1 Fuel Quantity Indication gauges read zero after block-in; with approximately 4;000 LBS. After transferring fuel in tank #1 to tanks #2 and #3; nothing seemed out of order when I saw 8;800 LBS. of fuel load written by the Fueler on the fuel slip for final load even though the guage still read zero.I did not speak to Fueler and believed fuel slip to be correct. I am aware of company's fueling policies and should have been at aircraft when being fueled to a known quantity; but was addressing other aircraft and awaiting a call from Maintenance Control as to when B727 aircraft was to be fueled to a known quantity. When the aircraft returned to the gate the first time; after #1 engine shut down; I checked the #1 tank (Drip) stick and knew then it had not been fueled as requested to a known quantity.At that time; the fuelers were called to place a known quantity of fuel into #1 tank. During second pushback; the flight crew received '0' fuel flow indication during #1 engine start and aircraft returned to gate. I suspected then at this point that there was air in the fuel line. I communicated this to my Lead and it was decided to ground the aircraft for further evaluation.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.