Yesterday, the FAA called for changes to airliner fuel systems in Airbus and Boeing aircraft. The new changes are expected to cost airlines millions and millions of dollars in a deadly stage of the industry. This new order goes into effect August 20th. Basically, the FAA wants a coolant system installed between the center fuel tanks and the air conditioning systems. The air conditioning systems, which generate a lot of heat, are located below the fuel tanks. The rule also requires aircraft manufacturers and airlines to install devices that replace oxygen, which is highly explosive, with inert nitrogen in fuel tanks, while they empty. This order comes 1 day before the 12 year anniversary of TWA flight 800, a Boeing 747 that fell out of the sky due to the AC Packs heat / fumes.
Attached is a figure, that I made, to show you:
The FAA says that airlines will have up to 10 years to replace all their aircraft’s fuel systems. The process costs about $92,000 for small aircraft, like a A320 or 737, or could be as much as $311,000 for a Boeing 777 or other larger plane. JetBlue Airways stated that the replacement will cost about $8 billion dollars for the New York based airline, meanwhile Southwest Airlines claims that they will have the systems installed within the timeframe.
