FAA Requires Upgraded Jet Fuel Tanks

July 16, 2008 11:33 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The Federal Aviation Authority is slated to issue Wednesday an order on Wednesday requiring aircraft jet fuel tanks to be upgraded in an effort to avert air disasters.

The requirement's introduction coincides with the 12th anniversary of the ill-fated TWA Flight 800 which exploded in 1996. The Boeing 747-100 was on its way to Paris from New York when it exploded off Long Island. All 230 passengers and crew perished.

According to an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), hot and highly explosive fumes in the aircraft's center tank ignited.

A majority of other large planes could be vulnerable to similar explosions, prompting the NTSB to recommend that all jets must be equipped with a device that would blow out flames in fuel tanks. Air carriers were against the recommendation because it involved high costs.

The cost issue was solved after an FAA scientist discovered a more affordable device in 2002 that covers fuel tanks with nitrogen gas to prevent explosions. The FAA gave air carriers 10 years to equip their jets with the device, but exempts planes that would be retired by 2018.

The requirement covers more than 3,000 aircraft used by American airlines, including the Boeing 737, 747, 757, 767 and 777 models and all Airbus models. As of 2004, the cost of installing the device on existing jets was placed by the FAA at $700 million.

U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Mary Peters will announce the details of the new FAA requirement at a news conference on Wednesday in Ashburn, Virginia.