FAA to order fuel tank modifications on 3,800 commercial airplanes

The wheels grind slowly (8 years later)....


U.S. regulators said they plan to order modifications on 3,800
commercial airplanes to reduce chances of a fuel tank explosion
like the one that brought down TWA Flight 800 in 1996. The
initiative, once dismissed as too expensive and impractical for
the passenger fleet, could cost the industry at least $530
million over several years, the FAA said. FAA Administrator
Marion Blakey said the FAA will propose a regulation later this
year requiring the industry to install a fuel tank safety device
on new planes made by Airbus and BOEING CO. and retrofit
existing aircraft over a 7-year period. Regulations, however,
can take years to finalize. The on-board device is designed to
reduce the threat of combustion by neutralizing the potentially
volatile fuel-air mixture in empty or emptying tanks. This is
achieved by replacing oxygen with nitrogen-enriched air.
(Reuters 12:24 PM ET 02/17/2004)

Mo
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