Newsstand - Damaged Wiring Found in Older Planes

Wiring damage of the type that could have caused the TWA Flight 800 disaster has been found in other aging aircraft, federal investigators said Wednesday.


http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/w/AP-NTSB-TWA-Flight-800.html


The scope of aircraft wire hazards took center-stage this morning at the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board’s meeting on the TWA 800 crash, as the NTSB challenged a recent industry study’s conclusion that in-service wire safety problems are few and far between.

The study, released last week by the Air Transport Association (ATA) and Aerospace Industries Association, reported that some 990 checks of in-service planes over a three-year period found only “isolated incidents” of potential safety-of-flight issues. The industry group’s conclusion differs sharply from the NTSB’s findings from its TWA crash probe, board engineering division staff member Robert Swaim said.
http://www.aviationnow.com/TwoShare/getPage?sid=8477575406886605401

[This message has been edited by doc (edited 08-23-2000).]

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has made a number of recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regarding aircraft fuel tanks and wiring systems.
http://news.airwise.com/stories/2000/09/969448772.html

US regulators laid out guidelines for putting more flame-retardant insulation in new and in-service aircraft of all sizes, though planes already flying won’t face mandatory retrofits.
http://www.aviationnow.com/TwoShare/getPage/getPage?sid=-6828246934675213876

Old airline jets may be flying with thousands of cracks in their electrical wiring, based on a USA TODAY analysis of a new Federal Aviation Administration report.

The report, which is being released Wednesday, was put together by an FAA task force that hired electrical engineers to test wire on six jets, each at least 20 years old.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washdc/ncstue09.htm


Also this month, results of an FAA-led “intrusive inspection” program will be presented to an aging systems working group made up of industry representatives. The program, initiated by the Aging Transport Systems Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ATSRAC) formed in early 1999, involved digging deep inside a half-dozen recently retired jets to determine the condition of electrical components hidden from sight, such as wire inside conduits. Often, such damage goes undetected during routine visual inspections, as mechanics are encouraged to disturb wire bundles as little as possible to prevent unintended damage during the check itself.

“To date, the result of these inspections has shown that there are no immediate safety problems, but there may need to be some follow-on corrective actions,” FAA Aircraft Certification Service Director Elizabeth Erickson said. She stressed that the intrusive tests emphasized that “improvements are needed in maintenance and design practices” to help mitigate the effect of age on wiring.
http://www.aviationnow.com/TwoShare/getPage?sid=1151621478071433046

[This message has been edited by doc (edited 10-11-2000).]

The Federal Aviation Administration's director of aircraft certification, Elizabeth Erickson, said on Wednesday: "There is no immediate safety problem."

But she predicted that in the next few months her agency would order inspection and perhaps replacement of particular segments of wiring in several jetliner models.

The FAA agreed to discuss the preliminary findings of the wiring team, which began a two-day meeting in Washington on Wednesday, after some were disclosed in USA Today on Wednesday morning.
http://news.airwise.com/stories/2000/10/971440402.html

A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report, released this week, suggests that many older, commercial aircraft may be flying with thousands of cracks in their electrical wiring, which could affect the operation of the aircraft. This report comes on the heels of an FAA meeting addressing criticism from Congress on the FAA's failure to make sure commercial pilots are complying with pilot work and rest hours so that fatigued pilots are not operating aircraft and endangering the lives of passengers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/001017/ny_tag_avi_2.html

The International Aviation Safety Association (``IASA'') commends the work of the ``Wire System Safety Interagency Working Group'' (``WSSIWG'') as contained in its Final Report (November 2000) titled ``Review of Federal Programs for Wire System Safety.''

IASA hosted its annual symposium, ``Aircraft Wiring - Cause for Concern?'' at the Grand Hyatt New York on November 20, 2000 at which the President's Senior Policy Advisor on Aviation, Mr. Charles Huettner, made the first public announcement heralding The Final Report's publication. Although the Recommendations from the Final Report will not be available until March 2001, IASA recognizes the importance of the Final Report in addressing the issue of wiring in aging aircraft.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/001121/ny_int_l_a.html

The announcement yesterday that AMR, parent of American Airlines would spend $1.7 billion to buy Trans World Airlines (TWA) and some assets of UAL's United Airlines, in deals to give it a quarter of the U.S. air travel market received a ``cautionary'' welcome from the International Aviation Safety Association (``IASA'').

IASA USA Vice-Chairman, Edward B Block, a world recognized aircraft wire and cable expert, speaking today urged the airlines to make public the type of aircraft wiring used in their fleets and specifically those wired with ``Kapton.'' ``With the scrutiny that aircraft wiring is subject to at the current time'' said Block ``any prudent airline would take steps to ascertain the type of aircraft wiring aboard their aircraft -- and particularly that of an airline it is buying.''
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010111/ny_intl_av.html

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered operators of DC-9/MD-88 series and MD-90-30 series aircraft to inspect the wiring of static port heaters for chafing, loose connections and evidence of arcing, and to make necessary repairs.

Operators must also determine if the surrounding insulation is covered with metalized Mylar (polyethyleneteraphthalate). If so, the Mylar must be removed and/or replaced with Tedlar-covered insulation, or other appropriate action must be taken.

Static port heaters are small heaters that keep ice from forming on devices that measure air pressure.
http://news.airwise.com/stories/2001/05/990649592.html

FAA orders inspection of heaters on DC-9s

Heaters on more than 600 DC-9s and related jetliners must be inspected for problems that could cause fires, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/05/24/airplane.heaters.ap/index.html

doc, I have to say, I'm impressed. You quote from multiple sources, weave a coherent thread over the better part of a year, and tell an important story to boot.

Just curious, how do you track these threads so well? Memory, postits, novel-authoring plot-management software, repeated searches? I know that if it was me, by accident I'd probably be starting more new threads than maintaining the old ones.

Good job.

Thanks! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Nothing to be very impressed with however! I read quite a bit, am online an awful lot, and have a decent memory as well know how to search when necessary! All easily attainable and rather widely held attributes! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

And there are of course others who actually would prefer a new thread anyway! Different styles/strokes for different folks! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Enjoy the extended weekend! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

... and a happy Memorial Day Weekend to you too (I'll be spending mine in a quick meeting in Tokyo and then on to Bangkok).

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

---

Wiring has long been suspected of starting the fire. But investigators still haven't determined if burnt wires found in the wreckage, which show signs of a phenomenon called electrical arcing, started the fire or were scorched by fire from another source.

Testing on both the aircraft's general-purpose Kapton wiring, and wires connecting a controversial inflight entertainment system (later banned by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration), continues at government metallurgy labs in Ottawa and elsewhere.
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/updates/story.html?f=/news/updates/stories/20010526/national-576022.html