Emergency Order Issued on Boeing 727s

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered emergency inspections of the wiring of all U.S.-registered Boeing 727s late Friday, after mechanics found severe wear on wires running through the fuel tanks on two jets.

The agency said mechanics found signs of electrical sparking around the wires, which could trigger a fuel tank explosion.

“This condition, if not corrected, could result in ignition of fuel vapors in a fuel tank and a fuel tank explosion,” the FAA told 727 operators.

The “telegraphic airworthiness directive” issued by the agency gives airlines five days to make the inspections on airplanes with more than 50,000 hours of flight time. On planes with less flight time, the inspections must be made within 10 days or before a plane accumulates 30,000 hours of flight time, whichever is later.

The order affects 1,052 airplanes, which are flown by the major passenger carriers and cargo companies such as FedEx and UPS.