What? TWA 800? Oh oh, that was the aircraft with the bad gas tank, that just blew to pieces, right?For your EDIFICATION because I *know* you can't find this stuff on your own ...1.18.1 Accident Record and History of Fuel Tank Fires/Explosions on AirplanesThe Safety Board has participated in the investigation of several aviation accidents/incidents involving fuel tank explosions. According to a list prepared by the FAA, since 1959 there have been at least 26 documented fuel tank explosions/fires in military and civilian transport-category airplanes ...
The Safety Board conducted a special investigation of the May 9, 1976, accident involving an Iranian Air Force 747-131, as it approached Madrid, Spain, following a flight from Iran. All 17 people on board the airplane were killed, and the airplane was destroyed. Witnesses reported seeing lightning strike the left wing, followed by fire, explosion, and separation of the outboard wing before the airplane crashed. Examination of the wreckage revealed evidence of an explosion that originated in at least one of the left wing fuel tanks near a fuel valve installation. The airplane.s fuel tanks contained a mixture of JP-4 and Jet A fuel. The Board's report noted that almost all of the electrical current of a lightning strike would have been conducted through the aluminum structure around the ullage but discussed how some energy might have entered the fuel tanks. Although the Board's report did not identify a specific point of ignition within the tank, it noted that discharges could produce sufficient electrical energy to ignite the fuel/air mixture and that energy levels required to produce a spark will not necessarily damage metal or leave marks at the point of ignition. Upward flowing burn patterns were observed on the compensator that the FAA considered a potential ignition source for the surge tank fire.
The Safety Board also participated in the investigation of a May 11, 1990, accident, involving a Philippine Airlines 737-300 at Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Manila, Philippines, in which the Jet A fuel/air mixture in the CWT exploded as the airplane was being pushed back from the gate. Of the 120 people on board the airplane, 8 were killed, and 30 were seriously injured. As a result of this accident, the Safety Board issued Safety Recommendations A-90-100 through -103 to the FAA. In its safety recommendation letter, the Board noted that the exact source of ignition had not been established. However, lightning damage and damaged FQIS wires were found. The Board stated that "it is possible that the combination of a faulty float switch and damaged wires providing a continuous power supply to the float switch may have caused an electrical arc or overheating of the switch leading to the ignition of the center fuel tank vapor".
"Fact: In Congressional testimony and in statements repeatedly made in the media, the NTSB leadership characterized the only example of a fuel tank fire involving a Jet-A fueled airliner, a Philippines Air 737 in 1990, as a center fuel tank explosion. Video and still photography, taken after the fire was out, show the center wing tank did not explode."
"...The undercarriage, wheels and center wing box (tank), were structurally sound enough to carry the load of engines and fuel weight in the wings with the aircraft under tractor tow. The gross fire damage to the cabin appears more indicative of a cabin fire, exacerbated by ignition of emergency oxygen canisters, interior plastics, etc. The Philippine crash investigators could not prove a source of ignition for that fire. Had the Center Wing Tank actually exploded in the manner the NTSB leadership suggests the aircraft would have dropped on the ramp and the tons of fuel in the wing would have immediately been involved."