I'd been flying about 24 years - all fighters - when I and my student
had to eject from an F4E - fuel starvation. The bird had 3000 pounds
left and a big wad of rolled up typhoon tape (charred, but found in
the wreckage) blocked the transfer port between #2 and #1 fuselage
fuel cells. Another instance of McD's uninspired design - the fuel
probe and low level float is in cell 2 so neither worked as cell 2
stayed full while #1 ran dry. Someone at Hill AFB IRAN had left the
thing in there fifteen (15!) months prior when they were doing a
modification. Of course they denied everything and said it must have
happened after they OK'd the airplane. But since getting into the
fuselage cells requires opening up the fuselage (no access panels at
all) we all said 'yeah, right!'
Walt BJ