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

[Larry Dighera]

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)

More:
http://q1.schwab.com/s/r?l=248&a=925071&m=100624032a6bd00024897a&s=rb04

[Mark S Conway]

Like we believe it was a fuel tank explosion!!!
Please.....




"Larry Dighera" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> 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)
>
> More:
> http://q1.schwab.com/s/r?l=248&a=925071&m=100624032a6bd00024897a&s=rb04

[Larry Dighera]

>"Larry Dighera" > wrote in message
...
>>
>>
>> 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 $530
>> million over several years, the FAA said. FAA Administrator
>> Marion Blakey said the FAA will propose a regulation later this
>> year requiring the industry to install a fuel tank safety device
>> on new planes made by Airbus and BOEING CO. and retrofit
>> existing aircraft over a 7-year period. Regulations, however,
>> can take years to finalize. The on-board device is designed to
>> reduce the threat of combustion by neutralizing the potentially
>> volatile fuel-air mixture in empty or emptying tanks. This is
>> achieved by replacing oxygen with nitrogen-enriched air.
>> (Reuters 12:24 PM ET 02/17/2004)
>>
>> More:
>> http://q1.schwab.com/s/r?l=248&a=925071&m=100624032a6bd00024897a&s=rb04
>
On Wed, 18 Feb 2004 12:29:25 GMT, "Mark S Conway"
> wrote in Message-Id:
<FUIYb.213502$U%5.1235945@attbi_s03>:

>Like we believe it was a fuel tank explosion!!!
>Please.....
>

Apparently Administrator Blakey believes it:


A DECADE LATER, FAA MOVES ON EXPLODING FUEL TANKS
The FAA is hoping to propose a rule this fall that would require
airlines to install equipment to lessen the chance of in-flight
fuel-tank explosions. FAA Administrator Marion Blakey announced the
initiative Tuesday, saying the rule is being considered because new
technology, largely developed by the agency itself, is now available
to displace some of the oxygen within fuel tanks with inert nitrogen.
"We're taking this step because we have found a practical solution,"
she told a news conference. The new, roughly $220,000-per-plane rule
would be phased in over seven years starting in 2006, 10 years after
the NTSB determined the belly tank of a TWA Boeing 747 (Flight 800)
exploded off Long Island, killing 230 people. It was not the first or
the last event of its kind.
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/201-full.html#186748