NTSB CHAIRMAN COMMENDS FAA ON MAJOR ADVANCEMENT IN AVIATION SAFETY

[NTSB Press Releases <NTSBPressReleases@xxxxxxxx>]

Title: NTSB CHAIRMAN COMMENDS FAA ON MAJOR ADVANCEMENT IN AVIATION SAFETY

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                      NTSB PRESS RELEASE
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National Transportation Safety Board
Washington, DC 20594

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 16, 2008
SB-08-33

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NTSB CHAIRMAN COMMENDS FAA ON MAJOR ADVANCEMENT IN AVIATION
SAFETY

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - National Transportation Safety Board
Chairman Mark V. Rosenker today commended the U.S.
Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation
Administration for its final rule on fuel tank inerting.
This rule is a result of a Safety Board recommendation aimed
at eliminating fuel tank explosions in transport category
aircraft. This recommendation has been on the Board's Most
Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements since
2002.

"The NTSB congratulates the DOT and the FAA on this
important safety achievement," said Chairman Rosenker. "From
tragedy we draw knowledge to improve safety and today's
announcement represents a significant step toward avoiding
future aviation accidents of this nature."

On July 17, 1996, TWA flight 800, a 747 en route from New
York to Paris, exploded shortly after taking off from JFK
Airport. 230 people lost their lives. In its final report,
the Safety Board determined that the probable cause of the
TWA 800 crash was an explosion of the center wing fuel tank,
resulting from ignition of the flammable fuel/air mixture in
the tank.

The Safety Board called upon the FAA to require design or
operational changes that will preclude the operation of
large airplanes with explosive fuel-air mixtures in the fuel
tank. In particular, the Board recommended that the FAA give
significant consideration to the development of airplane
design modifications, such as nitrogen-inerting systems, and
to apply such modifications to newly certificated airplanes
and, where feasible, to existing airplanes.

The rule issued today by the DOT was in response to the
Safety Board's recommendation A-96-174.

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NTSB Media Contact: Bridget Serchak
202-314-6100
Bridget.serchak@xxxxxxxx

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