FAA proposes safety changes to 737s

April 16, 1998
Web posted at: 3:50 p.m. EDT (1950 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday proposed mandatory changes to fuel system wiring and vent systems of early-model Boeing 737s, the most widely used commercial airplane, an FAA spokesman told CNN.

The proposed directive would require airlines to shield or separate wires routed to fuel tanks from other wiring in the jets, and to install electrical surge-suppression systems, FAA spokesman Les Dorr said.

It also would require installing flame arrestors and pressure relief valves in the jets' fuel vent systems to keep flames outside a 737 from entering its fuel system through its wingtip fuel vents.

The proposals stem from the probe into the explosion of TWA Flight 800, and mirror a proposed airworthiness directive the FAA issued for older Boeing 747s on November 26, 1997. Those 747s use the same wiring systems.

Boeing 737

There also was a recommendation by the National Transportation Safety Board, issued April 7, for sweeping inspections as well as design and equipment changes in several plane models.

The 45-day comment period on the latest proposed directive began Thursday. The directive, if made permanent, will require compliance within one year. The FAA estimates the cost of the changes at $36,000 per plane, Dorr said.

All 230 people aboard TWA Flight 800 were killed on July 17, 1996, shortly after the Paris-bound jet took off from Long Island, New York.

The cause of the crash has not been determined, but investigators have reported finding corroded wires bundled together on that 747 and on other planes.

One of several crash theories for Flight 800 is that electricity might have jumped from a corroded high voltage wire to one of the low voltage cables that lead to fuel quantity gauges in the plane's center fuel tank.

Thursday's FAA proposal would launch an effort to prevent such an electrical leak from happening.

The FAA can require the aviation industry to take action. The National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates crashes, can only recommend changes.

The FAA proposal would affect Boeing models 737-100, -200, -300, -400 and -500. There are about 1,140 of these planes in service in the United States, and 2,800 worldwide. The proposal would not apply to newer 737s.

Related stories:

• New air safety measures planned - April 14, 1998
• NTSB wants older 747s checked and rewired - April 7, 1998
• FAA inspectors find no 737 safety problems - February 12, 1998

Related sites:

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• Federal Aviation Administration
• The Boeing Company
  • 737 Family

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