Investigators discovered evidence of fire
and electrical damage in the wiring of Swissair Flight
111's in-flight entertainment and gambling system, prompting the
airline yesterday to disconnect it on its other planes. Sources
close to the probe of the Sept. 2 crash said all the insulation
was burned off three of the four sets of wires coming from the sophisticated
system, located above and behind the cockpit, and there
was clear evidence of electrical arcing, or sparks.
A preliminary investigation has raised concerns about the amount
of heat that the cutting-edge electronics produces, as well
as the manner in which it was connected to the aircraft's
main electrical power, the sources said.
Swissair and the Transportation Safety Board
of Canada said in brief statements that there is insufficient evidence
so far to determine whether the wiring played a role in the New
York-Geneva flight's plunge into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all
229 onboard. The Canadian board said it is possible the damage was
"merely the byproduct of other events" on the McDonnell
Douglas MD-11 jet. Although the Canadian safety board said that
this particular system was "unique to the Swissair fleet,"
sources said investigators and regulators want to take a new look
at onboard video and gaming systems that some airlines are installing
on long-distance jets to woo customers.
The Federal Aviation Administration, which
must certify the entertainment equipment and the repair facility
that installs it, is said to be already poring over the paperwork
involved in earlier approvals, and has inspected one Swissair MD-11
at Los Angeles, finding no problems. Swissair was a pioneer in onboard
gambling systems, installing the first one early last year. The
system consists of large processors and recorders above the
forward part of the cabin with wires leading through the roof and
walls to flat color LCD displays at each seat. In addition
to gambling, passengers simply touch the screen to choose from about
a dozen movies, music in 10 languages and numerous other features.
Swissair, in its promotional literature, touted the system as providing
"the Swissair passenger with an unprecedented degree of freedom
and choice." The airline said yesterday that it would turn
off the systems on its remaining 15 MD-11s and a similar system
on three Boeing 747s, forcing passengers back to the older system
of a single movie and limited music selection. The system "has
not been identified as a cause of the accident of sr111," the
airline said in a statement, adding it may reactivate the system,
depending on the outcome of the investigation.
Weeks or months may be required to determine
whether the entertainment system was a crash cause. However, the
investigation may result in safety upgrades for the system, just
as the crash already has resulted in an FAA announcement
that aircraft heat and sound insulation has inadequate fire-retardant
capabilities and will have to be replaced on almost all jetliners
over time. Other foreign airlines are moving slowly
toward these onboard video systems, although they are an electricity
drain and are expensive. Swissair paid $70 million to
$80 million for its entertainment package, designed by Interactive
Flight Technologies Inc. of Phoenix, a troubled company that is
leaving the inflight business after suffering financial difficulties
and a recent boardroom coup.
Officials said none of these systems was
installed on U.S. airliners, largely because they produce too
much heat for the U.S. industry, cost too much and because Congress
has outlawed gambling on U.S. air routes. The Canadian safety board
statement said examination of debris "has revealed that some
of the wiring and structure, located in the
ceiling in the vicinity of the cockpit, shows signs of significant
heat damage." The official statement did not mention
fire or electrical arcing, which was mentioned by several other
sources. The burned wiring was found among
debris dredged from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean just off Peggy's
Cove, Nova Scotia. The MD-11 slammed into the ocean about 16 minutes
after the crew reported smoke in the cockpit and donned oxygen masks.
Wiring from the entertainment
system is easily identified, running through the roof in four strings,
or "twists," of three wires each. These
strings are bunched with numerous other wires into
a wire saddle stretching over the front cabin doors. The damage
to this area, especially the entertainment system wires, was significant,
sources said. Investigators still do not know why the
plane crashed. But sources said a clear heat and fire damage
pattern is emerging, with no fire or heat damage noted
in most parts of the aircraft so far. The damage area begins
in the instrument panel above the pilots' heads, stretching
back to the roof area over the front doors of the passenger cabin
where the in-flight entertainment system is located. Pieces
of plastic and other easily melted material located in the wall
areas below the ceiling show no signs of heat. Debris from
the high-voltage electronics bay below the pilots, one of the first
areas of concern, has shown no fire or electrical damage so far.
There also is no evidence so far of a fire inside the passenger
cabin, and several sources said it was doubtful that passengers
were subjected to fire or even to appreciable amounts of smoke .
· After looking at other versions of the
entertainment system made by Interactive Flight Technologies,
investigators became concerned about the amount of heat
produced by its design. In effect, the system places powerful
personal computers at each seat, and draws an unusually
high amount of power. Some systems need supplemental
cooling power. Investigators also were concerned to
learn that the system was attached to an electrical "bus"
that feeds electricity to key aircraft systems, rather
than to a bus designed for "nonessential" systems such
as cabin lighting. The "nonessential" bus
is the first to be shut down by pilots during a checklist to search
for the source of smoke in the cockpit. Investigators do not yet
know whether the Swissair crew cut power to any electrical bus,
but they point out that many of the wires for nonessential systems
run through the roof of the aircraft and are bundled with
the flight entertainment wires. Therefore, power
still would be flowing through an area of the aircraft that otherwise
is devoid of electrical power as part of the trouble-shooting
effort.
Sources said investigators do not yet know
whether the pilots were told of this fact, but it is not mentioned
in Swissair flight manuals. The sources said investigators
also are concerned that high-voltage and low-voltage wires are bundled
together in the overhead area. Airline manufacturers,
such as Boeing, do not make these systems. On older aircraft, they
are an "after-market" item made by various companies and
installed by others. Under FAA rules, the systems must be approved
by the FAA or by a private FAA-approved facility called a "designated
alteration station," which must be a domestic U.S. repair station
with certain engineering qualifications.
If the designated alteration station approves
new systems, the paperwork -- called a "supplemental type certificate"
-- must be forwarded to the FAA for inspection. The airline's country
of origin also must approve the system, in this case the Swiss Federal
Office of Civil Aviation. In the Swissair case, the certificate
was issued by Santa Barbara Aerospace of Santa Barbara, Calif.,
to Interactive Flight Technologies. Hans Klaus, a Swissair spokesman,
said the IFT system was installed at the airline's Zurich maintenance
base by another California company, Hollingead, with representatives
of Swissair and the Phoenix company assisting and inspecting the
installation. Interactive Flight Technologies was founded in early
1994, and in July of 1996 landed the Swissair contract to install
the system in 21 jets. But the company's prospects quickly faded
as other airlines expected to order the system, such as Australia's
Qantas Airways Ltd., decided not to use it.
The company -- whose board members once included
former secretary of state Alexander M. Haig Jr. -- all but stopped
selling the systems this year, and in July said it would move into
the retail dry-cleaning business. Last month, a group called Ocean
Castle Partners wrested control of the company in a proxy contest
and ousted the old board.
Moshe Porat, one of the new board members,
said he had been assured by the company and its lawyers that the
Swissair incident didn't pose any problem for the company. He said
he joined at the request of new board chairman Irwin L. Gross, who
Porat said wanted to "enhance shareholder value" in the
company. Porat said the board is in the process of designing a new
corporate
strategy across "a whole spectrum of
businesses, including financial." The company's stock, which
was $16 a share in 1996, has plunged in value. Yesterday it fell
12 1/2 cents, or 14 percent, to close at 75 cents.
Staff writer Steven Mufson contributed to
this report.
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