After "Crash of Flight 111" originally aired, the U.S. Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) said it was not offered a fair opportunity to provide
information and that NOVA relied heavily on sources that it regarded as
questionable. NOVA has since invited both the FAA and independent experts to
address these concerns and update certain claims made in the original
broadcast.
For instance, the program claims that the FAA has implemented few of the 23
safety recommendations made by the Canadian Transportation Safety Board (TSB).
The FAA says it is addressing all 23 recommendations, though implementation may
not be exactly as proposed. The goal, it adds, is to meet the "intent" of the
recommendations, which is flight safety.
Commenting on the assertion that MPET (metalized Mylar), the material that
added to the fire on Swissair Flight 111, remains in many airplanes, the FAA
notes that making the required changes takes time. However, since the June 2005
deadline is just months away, most airplanes will have been modified by now. As
for the removal of other insulation coverings in thousands of planes (the
majority of the U.S commercial fleet: Mylar in Boeing and Airbus jets, some
foam insulation in Airbus, etc.), the FAA says it is considering a proper
course of action but feels regulations do not warrant removal of old materials
simply because they fail to meet new standards. According to an FAA spokesman,
"While not state of the art, these materials"—foam insulation, for
instance—"are not unsafe."
The FAA denies it is ignoring the TSB's call for an integrated fire-fighting
philosophy and points to an advisory circular entitled "In-Flight Fires" that
it published on January 4, 2004. Finally, both the FAA and an independent
expert contradict a statement by Ken Adams. In the program, Adams, who
represented the Air Line Pilots Association during the investigation, claimed
that regulations have not changed and new planes such as the Boeing 7E7 and
Airbus 380 do not have to provide any more fire detection or fire protection
than on Flight 111. According to the FAA, a more stringent flammability test
has been mandated for newly built aircraft, and the requirement takes effect in
September 2005. Both the new Boeing and Airbus planes will have advanced
electrical-system protection and will feature low flammability
materials.—Evan Hadingham, NOVA's Senior Science Editor
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