F.A.A. Says It Has Way to Avert Airline Fuel Tank Explosions

NY Times ^ | 2/17/2004 | MATTHEW L. WALD

[Rokke]

This ought to be good.

[Rokke]

This ought to be good.

[cardinal4]

I know how to stop'em too. Quit firing SAMs at them..

[Red Dog #1]

Does anyone know if their mandating on board nitrogen generation/scrubbing or just some system pressurizing the tank with ambient air to prevent vaporization? $200,000 is dirt cheap for any major aircraft systems modification.

[microgood]

and aviation engineers took some time to come to full recognition of the fuel tank problem

Some time along with a lot of death threats from the CIA. The part I like the most is that the CIA themselves demonstrated how the front section plane turned into a missle and shot straight up into the heavens for a couple thousand feet and looked like a missle. Boy they must think we are dumb.

[DuncanWaring]

...the system will weigh 100 to 200 pounds, and will require some extra fuel use by the engines to provide compressed air...

To say nothing of the extra fuel use by the engines generating thrust to carry around the extra weight.

On longer (transoceanic/transcontinental) flights, this will amount to roughly 100 to 200 pounts of fuel.

Per flight

On each and every flight.

[Maria S]

“Flight 800 was initially thought to have been downed by a bomb or a missile, and aviation engineers took some time to come to full recognition of the fuel tank problem.”

Try http://www.twa800.com/index.htm

[woofer2425]

The Air Force's C5A has had an on-board liquid nitrogen system that keeps the empty space on it's fuel tanks filled with nitrogen. The aircraft is about 30 years old. So this technology has been around awhile. The cryrogenic system was difficult to mainain at times but seemed to work well.

[So Cal Rocket]

The proposed system takes bleed air off of the engine, compresses it through a gas separation membrane, splitting off a good portion of the oxygen content and sends the de-oxygenated air (nitrogen enhanced) into the fuel tank.

[Steve Van Doorn]

"I know how to stop'em too. Quit firing SAMs at them.."

That is exactly what I was thinking!

[So Cal Rocket]

See my post above, they're not proposing on-board nitrogen ala the C-5.

This is newer technology used on C-17's/F-22's.

[corkoman]

How many other aircraft have had a empty fuel tank explosion????

[Steve Van Doorn]

"How many other aircraft have had a empty fuel tank explosion????"

Darn it, where did that tin foil hat go!? Dammed if I know.

[Cboldt]

How many other aircraft have had a empty fuel tank explosion????

The article says three total. Two of three must have failed to make much news impact.

[HangThemHigh]

This sounds like a membrane separation system where oxygen is essentially filtered out by passing pressurized air through a membrane. This gives an enriched nitrogen atmosphere (but some oxygen gets through). Anybody know for sure?

[So Cal Rocket]

I know for sure as I am working on the project... it works as you described.

[Hunble]

How TWA 800 was destroyed does not matter. This solution will prevent any future fuel tank explosions, even if the aircraft is hit by a missile.

I must admit, this solution is rather simple and did impressed me.

Use the natural 80% Nitrogen and 20% Oxygen in the air and remove the Oxygen. What you have left is an atmosphere that will not allow aviation fuel to explode, no matter what the cause is.

Interesting technology and I hope that our military aircraft are rapidly upgraded to this new molecular filtration system.

[Hunble]

How expensive is this filtration system?

It sounds rather similar to the filters used by scuba shops for NITROX air mixtures provided to divers, but it is removing a percentage of the Oxygen instead of the Nitrogen in the air mixture.

[So Cal Rocket]

It's not cheap... $100,000/plane.