AA Orders MD-11 CCUs Deactivated

AA Orders MD-11 CCUs Deactivated
by Sean Broderick

Regulatory wrap for Mar. 2-3, 2000

Acting on a National Transportation Safety Board recommendation issued in December, FAA Friday ordered MD-11 forward and center cargo control units (CCUs) deactivated pending further instructions. The rule, which takes effect March 20, came without a notice of proposed rulemaking because FAA felt the situation required "immediate adoption" of an action. Two separate incidents in which CCU wiring or motherboard problems contributed to onboard fires triggered FAA's move. Based on those incidents and input from CCU maker Lucas Aerospace, NTSB issued the letter of recommendation calling for FAA to address the problem. The CCU distributes power throughout cargo loading it and providing switching logic that commands floor-mounted rollers.