US government to order airlines to improve safety of fuel tanks

Airline Industry Information, Feb 18, 2004

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

The US government is expected to order airlines to install a system to improve the safety of fuel tanks.

Under the order, existing aircraft will be retrofitted with the device and new aircraft will have it as standard equipment. Large passenger jets - about 3,800 Boeing and Airbus aircraft - operated by domestic airlines will be affected by the order.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launched research into fuel tank safety following the explosion of a TWA Boeing 747 aircraft in 1996. Scientists have developed a system which pumps nitrogen-enriched air into fuel tanks to reduce the oxygen in fuel vapours and lessen the chance of an explosion.

It is currently unclear when the order will be effective as a cost-benefit analysis still has to be conducted, The Associated Press reported.

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