Aims To Prevent Blasts Similar To TWA 800

Monday, the FAA issued its 152-page proposal outlining vapor reduction methods intended to reduce the likelihood of a fuel tank explosion similar to that believed to have brought down TWA 800 in July 1996.

The proposed rules come after months of intense talks with the US Department of Transportation over the expected costs to already cash-starved airlines -- anticipated to be $313 million to refit 3,200 airliners through 2012.

First in line for the proposed retrofit will be Boeing 747s (the type involved in the TWA 800 accident), 737s, and Airbus A320s -- totalling more than 2,000 aircraft worldwide, according to Newsday.

The FAA will issues its final recommendations after a public comment period.

The proposal came one day before the National Transportation Safety Board -- which has called on the FAA to help prevent fuel tank explosions for years -- opened its annual meeting to review the agency's "most wanted" safety improvements. The NTSB previously accused the FAA of delaying a ruling on the matter.

No definite, across-the-board method currently exists to reduce the accumulation of fuel vapors in center tanks as they are warmed by heat on the tarmac, or from air conditioning units mounted under the tank.

Boeing may have found a solution for its aircraft, though, by using air from the plane's engines to pump inert nitrogen into the center tank, replacing the oxygen needed to ignite fuel vapors.

Boeing spokesperson Liz Verdier said the needed kits will be supplied to the airlines "at cost," should the FAA's proposal become law. The carriers would still need to pay, but Boeing would not make a profit on the sale of the kits.

"Everybody agrees that this is the right thing to do," she said.

FMI: www.faa.gov