FAA Urges Replacement of Insulation in Most Jetliners

The Federal Aviation Administration recommended Wednesday that the insulation on almost all of the world’s 12,000 passenger jets be replaced because new tests are likely to find that it can catch fire when exposed to high heat.

Some aviation officials estimated the price tag for the switch could total billions of dollars. The recommendation grew out of the investigation of Swissair Flight 111, which crashed off the coast of Nova Scotia last month. While the cause of the crash is not known, there are indications that some of the wreckage had been subjected to heat, and possibly a fire.

The retrofit, which the FAA said it would likely make mandatory after new flammability tests and specifications are developed in about six months, affects almost all airliners manufactured by Boeing, Airbus Industrie, McDonnell Douglas and Fokker. Officials said the Lockheed L-1011--about 200 of which are still flying--appears to be the only jet manufactured with acceptable insulation. The material under scrutiny is not wiring insulation, but rather looks similar to home insulation and is used for the same purposes--to minimize noise and trap heat.

The action is not expected to disrupt flight schedules because it would be performed during regular major maintenance periods. Aviation industry officials point out that insulation fires have been extremely rare.

FAA Administrator Jane Garvey said in an interview that the agency does not consider the fire threat serious enough to issue an “airworthiness directive” ordering immediate replacement, but the FAA may change its position if further research proves the threat to be greater than expected. For now, the agency, which had previously certified the material as not flammable, recommends replacement at “any reasonable maintenance opportunity.”

The record of aircraft fires involving insulation does not indicate a widespread or immediate safety threat, Garvey said.