FAA Orders Inspections for Older 737s
The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday ordered inspections within seven days for older Boeing 737s after discovery of leaking fuel in a pipe carrying electrical wires on one of the jets.
The affected pipe ran through a wing fuel tank, and FAA and Boeing officials determined that the fuel got into the pipe through two pin-sized holes. They suspect that those holes were caused by electrical arcing within the pipe, creating a mixture of air, fuel and electricity that could spark a fuel tank explosion like that suspected of downing TWA Flight 800.
That accident involving a 747 in July 1996 killed all 230 people aboard off Long Island, N.Y.
Since then Boeing and the FAA have issued service bulletins and airworthiness directives to conduct inspections, or to eliminate other potential flash points in Boeing aircraft having fuel systems similar to the 747.
The operators of 152 older Boeing 737-100 and -200 models will be required to remove and inspect the wire bundles running through similar fuel-tank tubing. They will also have to wrap the bundles in a fresh coat of Teflon sheathing and replace them altogether if there are signs of chafing.
The inspection and repairs could take the plane out of service for 15 hours, possibly causing flight delays.
Aviation officials also announced that they were giving the operators of Boeing 747 and 767 aircraft 60 days to ensure that wiring bundles on those planes were wrapped in Teflon as intended.
The FAA does not believe there are similar problems in the fuel systems of planes built by Airbus; they are still researching those built by McDonnell Douglas.
Officials said there is some urgency in their actions but they had concluded any threat to travelers was minimal if the inspections and the corrective actions are taken within the required times.
National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Jim Hall said, “I applaud the FAA’s announcement today that it will require certain inspections of Boeing 737s, 747s and 767s and hope the action is a sign that government regulators are moving aggressively to do what they can to ensure that fuel tank explosions like we saw in TWA 800--extremely rare to begin with--are even less likely to occur in the future.”
Critics have charged in recent years that the FAA has not responded quickly enough to some NTSB recommendations and has failed to deal promptly with important safety issues.
The problem that prompted the new order was discovered by mechanics working on a Continental Airlines Boeing 737-200 this week.
