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FAA Missed Warning on Insulation Burn Test
Concerned Agency Re-evaluates Its Role In Airline Safety
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FAA Missed Warning on Insulation Burn Test
Concerned Agency Re-evaluates Its Role In Airline Safety
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By Don Phillips
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, November 8, 1998
| Duvon McGuire was a young home-insulation specialist reading
through technical documents 10 years ago when something jumped out at
him: a description of the test used to determine the flammability of aircraft
thermal
insulation.
McGuire realized he was no expert in airplanes, but he was convinced that the test being performed was "meaningless," and he fired off a memo saying as much to the group responsible for it. The test involved holding a piece of insulation vertically over a Bunsen burner for 12 seconds and then watching how far the resulting flame traveled and how long it took to extinguish itself. If the fire went out within 15 seconds and the flame spread by less than eight inches, the material was approved for use as aircraft insulation. In a memo dated March 9, 1988, to a subcommittee of the American Society of Testing and Materials, whose standards are accepted by the Federal Aviation Administration and other government agencies, McGuire wrote that he was "shocked that the test was not more severe." The subcommittee basically ignored McGuire. And top officials at the FAA were unaware until this year that people -- including some technicians in their own agency -- were growing concerned that insulation could possibly help spread fires inside an aircraft. A series of events, culminating in the Sept. 2 crash of Swissair Flight 111, which killed 229 people, has propelled the insulation issue out of its obscurity as a medium-priority research project slowly making its way through the sprawling, 48,000-employee agency. The FAA's handling of the insulation issue is a case study of how critical safety issues can remain buried within government institutions, how tight budgets can affect research and how individual crashes and the publicity surrounding them can suddenly reorder the aviation safety agenda. Moreover, it demonstrates how the growth of aviation and its growing complexity have stretched the agency's ability to keep up with emerging safety issues. Air safety officials say it isn't clear if insulation -- which protects airline passengers from the noise and cold of flying at 37,000 feet -- played a role in the Swissair crash. But on Oct. 14, the FAA announced that almost all thermal and sound insulation on 12,000 commercial aircraft worldwide would have to be ripped out and replaced over a period of years at a cost that industry sources say could top $1 billion. The FAA said it will order the massive overhaul because new tests confirmed the burn test in effect for 23 years is woefully inadequate. In fact, many flammable products apparently would pass the current test. The insulation episode has concerned FAA officials, so much so that they have decided to go back and examine how the 40-year-old agency evaluates potential safety hazards. They will focus especially on being certain that sensitive safety issues are brought to the top of the agency. "I want to be more sure than I am today that we have a process where people are comfortable enough to bring things forward," FAA Administrator Jane Garvey said. "We're revisiting the issue of what our real job is," said Thomas McSweeny, the FAA's new associate administrator for regulation and certification. "Our real job is preventing accidents." |
| FAA urges airlines to replace insulation |
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| Insulation clue to Swissair crash
All on board the Swissair flight perished in the crash Canadian investigators believe they have found one of the causes of the Swissair crash which killed 229 people off the coast of Canada last September. The Canadian Transportation Safety Board said metalised Mylar - an insulating material used in the aircraft to protect it from cold and noise - was flammable, and had helped spread the fire which brought the plane down. The jet, an MD-11, was en route from New York to Geneva when it plunged into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Nova Scotia on 2 September, 1998. The pilots had reported an unusual smell and smoke in the cockpit just minutes before they issued an emergency distress call to Canadian air-traffic controllers. The investigators - who spent the last 11 months piecing together the final moments of Flight 111 - said cockpit insulation retrieved from the ocean floor revealed a significant amount of fire damage. "While the source of the ignition has yet to be determined, there are indications that a significant source of the combustible materials that sustained the fire was thermal acoustical insulation blanket material," the safety board said. The agency urgently recommended that all insulation blankets be tested for compliance with more rigorous fire standards.
Mylar failed tests Soon after the Canadian announcement, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in Washington said it would order US airline operators to replace metalised Mylar in 699 aircraft within the next four years. Flight 111 disappeared from radar screens off Nova Scotia But the FAA said it was "strongly encouraging operators to accomplish the insulation replacement during the earliest practical maintenance check". It found Mylar fell far below fire resistance standards in a new test developed by the FAA. FAA administrator Jane Garvey said: "We've weighed the benefit of replacing insulation, reviewed the service history of these aircraft and have made the right decision based on scientific data." The planes involved were all made by McDonnell Douglas, now owned by Boeing. In addition to the MD-11, the aircraft affected are the DC-10, MD-80, MD-88 and MD-90. McDonnell Douglas had recommended in 1997 that the insulation blankets be replaced on at least 1,000 jets.
Costly replacement More than half of the affected aircraft are operated by US carriers, including American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Continental Airlines and Trans World Airlines. Another 531 of the affected aircraft are registered in other countries. The FAA estimated the cost of the insulation replacement to the US operators at about $255m, or between $380,000 and $880,000 per plane. Airlines said the true cost had not been determined. The BBC's Lee Carter in Toronto says shortcomings in Mylar's fire resistance had been raised by Swissair crash investigators some time ago, but this is the first time it has been officially confirmed.
FAA to order insulation replaced on 700 airplanes WASHINGTON (AP) -- Insulation on nearly 700 commercial airplanes will have to replaced within the next four years because it badly fails a flame retardancy test about to be instituted, a senior Federal Aviation Administration official said today. The proposed airworthiness directive, however, will not require the sweeping insulation replacement that the agency had discussed back in October, shortly after a Swissair plane crashed off Nova Scotia following a report of smoke in the cockpit. FAA officials said today that the agency backed off the plan, under which it would have ordered the replacement of insulation in nearly every U.S. commercial airplane, because recent research showed that most existing insulation passes or only narrowly fails the new flame test. Instead, the more limited order will apply to about 700 U.S. airplanes built by the former McDonnell Douglas Corp., which is now owned by the Boeing Co. They include the MD-80, MD-88, MD-90, DC-10 and the MD-11, which is the type of Swissair plane that crashed last September, killing all 229 aboard. Under the proposed order, airlines will have four years to replace all metalized mylar insulation with products that pass the new flame test. The order will take effect after a 45-day comment period and time for revisions. Those carriers primarily affected are American Airlines, Continental, Delta and TWA, although Alaska Airlines, FedEx, Reno Air and US Airways fly some planes covered by the order. In 1997, McDonnell Douglas told airlines they should consider replacing metalized mylar insulation because of it might be flammable. Insulation is used in airplanes to keep passengers warm and to dampen the noise of rushing air and engines. It is often installed in sheets, much like attic insulation. Since the Swissair crash, experiments the FAA has conducted in an effort to create a new test and flame retardancy standard for aircraft insulation have confirmed the concerns about metalized mylar aired by both McDonnell Douglas and Boeing. ``It doesn't just fail the test; it fails it by a wide margin,'' Beth Erickson, director of the FAA's aircraft certification service, said in an interview. ``If there is a low-level ignition source, like an (electrical) arc, it will catch on fire.'' While some other materials do not pass the new test, ``they miss it by a much narrower margin. Therefore, they don't pose a safety threat,'' Erickson said. Asked whether the agency had caved in to pressure from the airlines, which balked at the expense of a wholesale replacement, Erickson said: ``No, the science helped drive us to the decisions that we were making.'' She said another concern was that replacing insulation that has only a minor safety threat might create problems within an airplane, since insulation is often threaded around wires and other potential ignition sources. ``The very thing that can cause the problem is damaged wiring,'' she said. ``You don't want to do something that creates that problem.'' The cause of the Swissair crash remains under investigation. The pilots of the New York-to-Geneva flight reported smoke in the cockpit 16 minutes before their MD-11 crashed into the ocean. Since then, investigators have examined the aircraft's in-flight entertainment system -- a huge power consumer -- and other wiring around the cockpit and electrical bay, which sits below and just behind the cockpit. The Swissair plane also was insulated with metalized mylar, generating questions about whether that may have helped spread an electrical fire. Existing insulation is tested over an open flame or by throwing a lighted Q-Tip on it to see if it will burn. Under the new test, known by some in the aviation community as the ``Garvey Test'' because FAA Administrator Jane Garvey vowed to create a new test standard, insulation is exposed to an open flame and an overhead heat source. Any resulting fire cannot spread more than two inches from the open flame and must extinguish itself when the flame is removed. The agency said it plans to formally require the new test through its normal rule-making process. Erickson also said it is likely that the FAA will soon order that insulation in all new airplanes not only meet the current flame retardancy standards, but those in the new test. |
___________________________________________________________________________________________________ U.S. To Order New Insulation For Some Planes WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government said Wednesday it was planning to order the replacement of insulation blankets in nearly 700 aircraft within four years to reduce the risk of fire. Aircraft affected by the order have a plastic film encasing the fiberglass insulation that may have played a role in spreading the fire that downed a SwissAir MD-11 plane off Canada in September 1998. The planes involved were all made by McDonnell Douglas, now owned by Boeing Co. In addition to the MD-11, they are the DC-10, MD-80, MD-88 and MD-90 aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration said its testing found that the metalized Mylar used to cover some insulation could be ignited easily and spread flame across the blanket. ``With those two properties it poses a significant safety concern for us,'' said FAA aircraft certification director Beth Erickson. The FAA said some other types of insulation covering had failed a new burn test but did not pose the same degree of safety hazard as metalized Mylar, sparing the bulk of the U.S. fleet from a retrofit of new insulation. The FAA said it was allowing airlines time to schedule the insulation replacement in conjunction with major maintenance checks but it will still be an expensive job. FAA estimated the work would cost between $380,000 and $880,000 per plane. Airlines said the true cost had not been determined. ``This is a major, major undertaking,'' said John Hotard, a spokesman for AMR Corp.'s American Airlines. The Air Transport Association, which represents most U.S. carriers, said it shared FAA's concerns about metalized Mylar but was also worried about inadvertent damage to aircraft wiring during insulation replacement. ``We believe it would be beneficial to prototype the work and get some experience before we decide the pace at which it should be done,'' said ATA senior vice president John Meenan. FAA conceded the work would be difficult in some areas like the electronics bays of aircraft but, on balance, safety would be advanced by its order. The blankets are located between the aluminum skin of the plane and interior panels to help maintain cabin temperature and lessen wind and engine noise. ATA said there were also training, equipment and maintenance scheduling issues its members were concerned about. ``But all that is really secondary to the primary concern which is 'first, do no harm','' Meenan said. The government set a 45-day comment period. Erickson said she aimed to complete the directive by year's end. The FAA proposal would apply to 699 U.S.-registered aircraft. There are another 531 of the affected aircraft registered in other countries. Foreign civil aviation authorities usually follow FAA's lead. SwissAir Flight 111 crashed Sept. 2, 1998, off the coast of Nova Scotia killing all 229 people on board after the pilots reported smoke in the cockpit. Early in the investigation authorities became concerned that the type of aircraft insulation may have played a role in promoting the fire. Erickson said Canadian investigators were expected to soon use the FAA's technical center in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to do further research on the possible role of the insulation. The FAA has developed a new test that will allow airlines and manufacturers to run accurate and standardized tests on insulation samples in conditions similar to those on a burning aircraft. In addition to Mylar, a type of polyester, some metalized polyvinyl fluoride films known as Tedlar failed FAA's new test. Meeting the new test were insulation covered with the polyimide film Kapton and some examples of metalized Tedlar, depending on the adhesives used. A woven ceramic cloth by the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. showed promise, FAA said. New flammability and burn-through protection standards will be incorporated into updated certification rules to be proposed later this year. They are likely to apply only to newly manufactured aircraft, FAA officials said.
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W A S H I N G T O N, Aug. 11 - The Federal Aviation Administration Wednesday ordered the replacement of insulation blankets in nearly 700 aircraft within four years to reduce the risk of fire. Aircraft affected by the order have a type of plastic film on the face of the insulation blanket that may have played a role in spreading the fire that downed a SwissAir MD-11 plane off Canada in September 1998. The directive is a scaled-back version of the sweeping insulation replacement the agency had discussed back in October, shortly after a Swissair plane crashed off Nova Scotia following a report of smoke in the cockpit. FAA officials said today that the agency backed off the plan, under which it would have ordered the replacement of insulation in nearly every U.S. commercial airplane, because recent research showed that most existing insulation passes or only narrowly fails the new flame test. Instead, the more limited order will apply to about 700 U.S. airplanes built by the former McDonnell Douglas Corp., which is now owned by the Boeing Co. In addition to the MD-11, they are the DC-10, MD-80, MD-88 and MD-90 aircraft. Costly Repairs It will be an expensive job for the operators of an estimated 699 U.S.-registered aircraft. FAA calculated the cost at between $380,000 and $880,000 per plane. FAA said it was mandating the insulation replacement in connection with a new standard for insulation it had developed. "While other insulation materials in the current U.S. fleet are safe, tests show that metalized Mylar falls far below the new test standard," FAA said in a statement. The blankets are placed between the aluminum skin of the plane and interior decorative panels to help maintain cabin temperature and lessen wind and engine noise. Four Years for Compliance Because the replacement job is a major one and there is a risk of damaging aircraft wiring, FAA said it would give airlines time to do the job at the next major maintenance overhaul but no later than within four years. FAA orders apply only to U.S.-registered aircraft but other civil aviation authorities usually follow their lead. SwissAir Flight 111 crashed Sept. 2 off the coast of Nova Scotia killing all 229 people on board after the pilots reported smoke in the cockpit. Early in the investigation, authorities became concerned that the type of aircraft insulation may have played a role in promoting the fire. The Associated Press contributed to this report. _____________________________________________________________________________ |
| FAA to order insulation
replacement on 700 airplanes
Wednesday, August 11, 1999 By GLEN JOHNSON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON - U.S. airlines will have to replace the insulation in nearly 700 airplanes over the next four years because it badly fails an anti-flame test that is being developed, the Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday. The airworthiness directive, however, will not require the sweeping insulation replacement that the agency had discussed back in October, shortly after a Swissair plane crashed off Nova Scotia following a report of smoke in the cockpit. FAA officials said the agency backed off the plan, which would have ordered the replacement of insulation in nearly every U.S. commercial airplane, because recent research showed that most existing insulation would pass or only narrowly fail the new flame test. Instead, the more limited order will apply to 699 U.S. airplanes insulated with the questionable product, metalized Mylar. They were built by the former McDonnell Douglas Corp., now owned by the Boeing Co., and include the MD-80, MD-88, MD-90, DC-10 and the MD-11. That is the type of Swissair plane that crashed last September, killing all 229 aboard. Under the proposed order, airlines will have four years to replace metalized Mylar with products that pass the new flame test. The order will take effect after a 45-day comment period and time for revisions. The carriers primarily affected are American Airlines, Continental, Delta and TWA, although Alaska Airlines, FedEx, Reno Air and US Airways fly some planes covered by the order. Insulation is used in airplanes to keep passengers warm and to dampen engine noise and the sound of rushing air. It is often installed in sheets, much like attic insulation. In 1997, McDonnell Douglas told airlines they should consider replacing metalized Mylar because of it might be flammable. Since the Swissair crash, experiments the FAA has conducted in an effort to create a new test and flame retardancy standard for aircraft insulation have confirmed the manufacturer's concerns. "It doesn't just fail the test; it fails it by a wide margin," Beth Erickson, director of the FAA's aircraft certification service, said in an interview. "If there is a low-level ignition source, like an (electrical) arc, it will catch on fire." While some other insulations do not pass the new test, "they miss it by a much narrower margin. Therefore, they don't pose a safety threat," Erickson said. Asked whether the agency had caved in to pressure from the airlines, which baulked at the expense of a wholesale replacement, Erickson said: "No, the science helped drive us to the decisions that we were making." The proposed replacement will cost $255 million; a wholesale change would have run into the billions. Erickson said another concern was that replacing insulation that was considered a minor safety threat might create problems within an airplane, since insulation is often threaded behind wires and other potential ignition sources. "The very thing that can cause the problem is damaged wiring," she said. "You don't want to do something that creates that problem." The cause of the Swissair crash remains under investigation. The pilots of the New York-to-Geneva flight reported smoke in the cockpit 16 minutes before their MD-11 crashed into the ocean. Since then, investigators have examined the aircraft's in-flight entertainment system - a huge power consumer - and other wiring around the cockpit and electrical bay, which sits below and just behind the cockpit. The Swissair plane was insulated with metalized Mylar, also generating questions about whether that may have helped spread an electrical fire. Existing insulation is tested over an open flame or by throwing a lighted Q-Tip on it to see if it will burn. Under the new test, known by some in the aviation community as the "Garvey Test" because FAA Administrator Jane Garvey promised to create a new test standard, insulation is exposed to an open flame and an overhead heat source. Any resulting fire cannot spread more than two inches from the open flame and must extinguish itself when the flame is removed. The agency said it plans to formally require the new test through its normal rule-making process. Erickson also said the FAA will likely order that new airplanes be built only with insulation that passes the new test. (c) 1999 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. |
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