NTSB Chief Urges Changes in 747 Use

The chance of another Boeing 747 explosion could be reduced while officials wait to learn what ignited the center fuel tank on TWA Flight 800, a top aviation official said. “They could take what was a very safe situation, which is the daily flights of 747s, and eliminate even this remote possibility of explosive vapors,” said Jim Hall, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. The agency has complained that the Federal Aviation Administration has been slow to implement preventive measures. The NTSB has recommended either adding cool fuel to 747s or monitoring temperatures inside fuel tanks to avoid accidents like the deadly explosion of Flight 800 after it left New York for Paris a year ago. Investigators will conduct 10 test flights this week to try to recreate conditions that led Flight 800 to explode, killing all 230 people aboard.