Beset with huge losses attributable
to high costs and low fares, the airline industry now has something
else to worry about: the aging insulation on some aircraft.
"Reconstruction of the wreckage indicated that a segment of
arced electrical cable associated with the in-flight entertainment
network (IFEN) had been located in the area where the fire most
likely originated. The Board concluded that the arc on this
electrical cable was likely associated with the fire initiation
event. The Board also concluded that it is likely that one or more
additional wires were involved in the lead arcing event, and that
the additional wire or wires could have been either IFEN or
aircraft wires. Therefore, it could not be concluded that the known
arcing event on the IFEN cable located in the area where the fire
most likely originated was by itself the lead event."
Based in part on that finding, the
NTSB in Washington has ordered the metalized Mylar insulation
replaced on all MD-80, MD-88, MD-90, DC-10 and MD-11 aircraft by
June 30th. The FAA estimates cost of retrofitting the 719 aircraft
that fall under the mandate at $368.4 million.
"Any expense right now is bad timing for airlines, since most of
them are in a cash crunch," Calyon Securities analyst Ray Neidl
told Reuters. "But safety comes first."
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