Timeline of Insulation Blanket Fires

Air Safety Week, March 14, 2005

* June 1999: The UK's AAIB issues a report of wiring damaged by replacement of thermal acoustic insulation blanketing in the bilge area of a B747 (VH-OJD of Qantas). The arced wiring burned through the outer film of the thermal acoustic insulation blanket. The case illustrates the potential of creating a new danger while attempting to mitigate the hazard posed by flammable insulation blanketing.

* August 1999: FAA issues NPRM/ADs calling for removal of metallized Mylar insulation blankets on Douglas-built narrowbodies (DC-9, MD-80 series) and widebodies (DC-10, MD-11), and replacement with more fire-resistant materials within four years. Comments to be received by Sept. 27. The ADs appear literally hours after the Canadian TSB, the agency investigating the Swissair Flight 111 disaster, issues an urgent safety recommendation calling for metallized Mylar to be replaced. The TSB recovered burned metallized Mylar insulation from the accident aircraft. The TSB declares flatly on the "unnecessary risk" posed by the material in all aircraft.

In addition to announcing its program to remove metallized Mylar, the FAA outlines its new Radiant Panel Test, which is considerably more demanding than either the 12-inch flame test or the "Q-tip" test of insulation blanket material. Development of the Radiant Panel Test ended up taking about four months longer than the six months originally envisioned.

* November 1999: FAA extends comment period from Sept. 27 to Dec. 13. That same month, a team from Douglas and Swissair replace the insulation in the forward section of an MD-11. The trial project goes smoothly, with Boeing contributing $32,000 to the cost of materials. Swissair decides to selectively replace the metallized Mylar in all of its MD-11s (in areas identified as critical for added fire hardening -- about 15 percent of the total amount of insulation blanketing in the airplane,). Swissair replaces the metallized Mylar with Tedlar, a material that passes the FAA's new radiant heat test.

Also that month, a team from Douglas and American Airlines undertake to replace the metallized Mylar insulation on a prototype American Airlines MD-80. The objective of the project is to determine how difficult the retrofit would be and how it would impact other systems, such as wiring.

* December 1999: A program is initiated by Delta Air Lines to replace some insulation on its MD-11s as a trial to prepare for the FAA's final ruling. Delta elects to use blanketing with Kapton film, based on the good service experience with Kapton film on its L-1011 fleet.

* February 2000: Work on the American Airlines MD-80 prototype project is completed at a cost of nearly $2 million, about $1.1 million of which is for out of service revenue losses.

* March 2000: Qantas issues a memo prohibiting its mechanics from using Kapton as a replacement wire, citing "ongoing incidents across the world involving Kapton wire." The memo calls for purging of all Kapton from inventory stocks.

* May 2000: FAA issues final ruling, requiring metallized Mylar changeout in all areas of the airplane, but extends the original four-year deadline to five years. With an effective date of June 30, 2000, the five-year period established a deadline of June 2005. By this means, operators will have an opportunity to do the work during overhauls that occur on about a four- to fiveyear cycle, minimizing out-of-service time.