| Washington 10/01/98--- Transportation's
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Secretary of
Transportation Rodney E. Slater and FAA Administrator
Jane F. Garvey today announced a multi-year effort --
which includes both short- and long-term initiatives --
to address the safety and reliability of systems on
commercial aircraft.
The FAA's Aging Transport Non-Structural Systems Plan
responds to a recommendation by the White House
Commission on Aviation Safety and Security chaired by
Vice President Gore.
"Safety is President Clinton's highest
transportation priority and the 'north star' of our
efforts at the Department of Transportation,"
Secretary Slater said. "This new initiative
continues our work to fulfill the mandate of the White
House Commission, which is a blueprint to help us make
the world's safest aviation system even safer."
The White House Commission specifically recommended that
the FAA work in cooperation with airlines and
manufacturers to expand the FAA's aging aircraft program
to include a variety of systems. These include electrical
wiring, connectors, wiring harnesses, and cables; fuel,
hydraulic and pneumatic lines; and electro-mechanical
systems such as pumps, sensors, and actuators.
"Our aging structures program is successful because
of the joint commitment of the government and the
aviation industry," said Garvey. "This aging
systems plan opens a new era of aviation safety and
ensures we are identifying and addressing potential
safety risks."
The Air Transport Association (ATA), in cooperation with
the FAA and the airplane manufacturers, voluntarily
launched an initial inspection program to enhance an
already excellent maintenance program and identify
potential problems with aging systems in the entire
commercial fleet.
"The airlines remain relentlessly committed to
safety and, in partnership with the FAA and aircraft
manufacturers, have pledged their full resources and
experience to ensuring the reliability of all commercial
aircraft systems - regardless of age," said ATA
President and CEO Carol B. Hallett. "The short-term
information we are obtaining through our initial
inspection program is already providing the building
blocks for determining appropriate maintenance
improvements, as well as long-term design enhancements to
aircraft systems."
Teams of experts will study each specific aircraft model
and produce model-specific aging systems actions.
Chairing the review will be Kent Hollinger, vice
president for quality assurance and engineering at
America West Airlines.
The FAA expects to propose regulations by the end of the
year to require certain aircraft manufacturers to
demonstrate that fuel system designs remain safe and
prevent possible ignition sources in the fuel tank. The
manufacturer would be required to conduct a design review
to determine any additional maintenance practices needed
to maintain the integrity of airplane fuel tank wiring.
The airlines would be required to comply with the
regulations once the maintenance practices are developed.
Typically, air carriers use three types of wiring checks.
Zonal inspections, conducted every two years, examine the
condition of exposed wire bundles and connectors.
Airworthiness Directives (ADs) mandate corrective
actions. Inspections of flight critical systems, such as
autoland, are routinely conducted by airlines. Research
will determine if a service-life limit is warranted for
aircraft wiring.
Under the Aging Transport Non-Structural Systems Plan,
the longer-term initiatives will:
- Enhance airplane maintenance to better address
aging airplane systems;
- Improve wiring installation drawings and
instructions for continuing airworthiness;
- Evaluate the need for additional maintenance of
transport airplane fuel system wiring and address
any unsafe conditions;
- Add aging systems tasks to the aging airplane
research program; and
- Improve reporting of accident/incident and
maintenance actions involving wiring system
components.
The FAA's Plan is based on one year of extensive
research. The FAA held maintenance inspector workshops
and meetings with an airplane manufacturer to discuss
aging non-structural system issues. These efforts
revealed that current maintenance practices for systems
are too general and that standard repair practices are
needed. In addition, a team of experts from the FAA and
The Boeing Company inspected five aging aircraft: three
DC-10s, a DC-9 and a Boeing 727, with significant flight
hours or age undergoing heavy maintenance. The team did
not find any problems that would require taking aircraft
out of service but did see a need to improve inspections
and maintenance practices.
The FAA's aging aircraft program requires the FAA
administrator to prescribe regulations that ensure the
structural airworthiness of aging aircraft. This
proactive program focuses on defining requirements for
maintaining aircraft through improved inspections and
repair practices. It ensures that the structural safety
level assumed to have existed at the time the aircraft
was first FAA-approved is maintained for as long as the
aircraft operates. Through the cooperative efforts of
government and industry, the FAA's aging aircraft program
has improved aviation safety in the United States and
throughout the world.
The FAA's Aging Transport Non-Structural Systems Plan is
available on the World Wide Web at: www.faa.gov under the
Office of Public Affairs' "reports &
publications" site.
FACT SHEET FAA AGING AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS PLAN
The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Aging
Aircraft Systems responds to a February 1997
recommendation by the White House Commission on Aviation
Safety and Security, chaired by Vice President Al Gore.
The Commission recommended that FAA work with industry to
expand its aging aircraft program to cover wiring,
hydraulic lines, control cables and pneumatic devices.
Background on FAA's Aging Aircraft Program · FAA's aging
aircraft program is a joint effort with industry
established after an Aloha Airlines accident in 1988. --
FAA prescribes regulations that ensure the structural
airworthiness of aging aircraft. Focus is on defining
requirements for maintaining aircraft through
modifications, enhanced inspections and improved repair
practices. -- Through cooperative efforts of government
and industry, the FAA's aging aircraft program has
improved aviation safety throughout the world.
The Challenge · The FAA's safety goal is that, as
aircraft get older, both structural and non-structural
components must be adequately inspected and maintained as
long as a plane remains in commercial service. The
challenge is to develop maintenance and inspection
practices for aircraft systems that will adequately
address aging aircraft components. -- As airplanes age,
the requirements for inspections, repairs and parts
replacement change, and many times, increase. -- Each
transport aircraft model has a system design requiring
maintenance and inspections unique to that aircraft. --
U.S. fleet has a mix of older airplanes and newer, highly
computerized aircraft. Aging systems in each type also
must be addressed differently.
Developing New Knowledge · Much new information on the
state of aging aircraft systems has come to light over
the last several years. Taking that knowledge, the FAA
developed several initiatives to determine how these
systems perform in actual operations. -- FAA/Boeing team
evaluated five typical "aging" aircraft: three
DC-10s, a DC-9, a Boeing 727, with special emphasis on
wiring, lightning protection and flight control systems.
-- FAA held meetings with maintenance inspectors and
Boeing engineers to discuss aging systems concerns. --
Using accident and incident databases, the FAA identified
trends in aging systems. -- FAA continued its specific
investigation of fuel tank wiring that began with Boeing
747s and 737s. -- Review found that some wiring systems
were difficult to inspect and there were insufficient
inspection criteria for corrosion on some flight control
and hydraulic components.
Seven Steps to Safer Systems The FAA Aging Systems plan
combines regulatory actions, focused inspections,
research, training and advice from the aviation
community. It includes seven initiatives to enhance the
safety of non-structural aircraft components. · In-depth
review of the aging aircraft fleet and safety
recommendations for specific aircraft -- The program
targets certain aircraft in the U.S. fleet to assess the
impact of age on systems. A joint FAA/industry task force
will evaluate service histories and bulletins for each
aircraft model. The FAA will take regulatory actions as
needed. · Enhance airplane maintenance to better address
aging airplane systems. -- The FAA will revise guidance
for inspectors to improve examination of wiring, identify
corrosion of systems, avoid contamination of wiring,
identify maintenance and inspection intervals, review
training programs, and revise maintenance guidance. --
The Air Transport Association (ATA), working with the FAA
and aircraft manufacturers, recently produced a wiring
practices document ("Spec 117") that is
recommended for use by all operators who do not now have
those practices in their safety programs. · Add aging
systems tasks to the FAA research program. -- Research
tasks will develop ways to better determine the current
condition of aging wiring components, determine if the
estimated life for the wiring is appropriate and
establish new criteria as needed. -- The program will
help develop new wiring inspection technologies that do
not require disassembly of components. -- The plan also
will examine how aging affects electromagnetic and
lightning protection systems. · Improve reporting of
accidents, incidents and maintenance actions involving
aircraft wiring systems -- The FAA will ask ATA to
develop codes that better identify wiring system
component failures and maintenance actions. -- The plan
seeks to improve the reporting format for accidents,
incidents and maintenance actions, and adds data bases to
improve analysis of aging systems. · Evaluate the need
for additional maintenance of transport airplane fuel
system wiring and address any unsafe conditions -- FAA is
reviewing service problems in the U.S. fleet to identify
any unsafe conditions in fuel system wiring, and will
take corrective actions as needed. -- FAA will propose a
Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) to require
certain aircraft manufacturers to show that fuel system
designs preclude ignition sources. Manufacturers would
have to conduct a design review to determine if any
additional maintenance practices are needed to maintain
fuel tank wiring safety. Air carriers would be required
to implement those practices. · Improve wiring
installation drawings and instructions for continuing
airworthiness -- Industry will define "best
practices" for wiring modifications -- Program will
develop training aids for wiring system installation, and
a job aid for evaluating the adequacy of installation
drawings and airworthiness instructions. · Establish an
Aging Transport Systems Advisory Committee to coordinate
the Plans' initiatives. -- Program calls for the
committee to start fleet reviews, coordinate efforts with
other government agencies, identify training needs for
FAA engineers and inspectors and hold annual workshops
for maintenance personnel.
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