FAA issues new fuel tank rules
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Regulators are requiring U.S. airlines to modify fuel tanks to cut the risk of explosions such as the 1996 blast that downed TWA Flight 800.
Complying with the new rule will cost about $1 billion over 35 years, said Robert Sturgell, acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. His estimate covers 2,730 passenger planes affected by the rule as well as new models.
The FAA is trying to prevent a repeat of the TWA disaster off New York’s Long Island and three others since 1989 that resulted in the deaths of 346 people. The rule, unveiled to coincide with today’s 12th anniversary of Flight 800, requires the installation of devices that pump nitrogen into center fuel tanks to eliminate the possibility of combustion.
