Here’s the real story.
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/347-full.html#189108
Joe
What? You mean initial media reports were incorrect? I’m outraged! [;)] It’s nice to hear the story from the pilot himself.
I think you will find that there is a fuel return to the tank selected as not all fuel that is pumped goes to the engine. If you take off and soon after switch to the ferry tank(which fuel does not return to) which can have a lot of fuel, eventually your wing tank will be full, and then go overboard. After a few hours, you may discover that your fuel quantity is lower than it should be. I suppose that it could flow out of the cap making you think that you have a faulty cap.
Not that I am suggesting that this was what happened here, of course.
If Andy is wrong about this, he’s been wrong for 9 years! His post is from 2005.