International Aviation Safety Association s1

International Aviation Safety Association

Media Watch

Reference:

Date: February 23, 2001

Organization:Health Scout

Title: Research Targets High-Flying Hazards

Word Count: 819

FRIDAY, Feb. 23 (HealthScout) -- When passengers board a plane, they might think about the condition of the engines, wings and landing gear. But they probably won't give a second thought to the electrical wires that crisscross the aircraft.

Maybe they should.

Bad airplane wiring has been blamed for two major crashes in recent years. But a Utah researcher says new technology will help airlines do a better job of detecting wiring problems before they lead to disaster.

"The problem is getting a huge amount of appropriate attention" from the government, says Cynthia Furse, assistant professor at Utah State University, which has launched a federally funded study into aircraft wiring.

The hazards of airplane wiring have received increased attention in recent years, mainly due to the crashes of Swissair 111 off Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1998 and TWA 800 off Long Island in 1996. Investigators suspect faulty wiring may have played a role in both crashes, which killed a total of 459 people.

Passenger airplanes are jammed with electrical wires, says Furse, who co- wrote an article about the future of wiring in the February 2001 issue of IEEE Spectrum, the journal of The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.

Just as in homes and cars, wiring deteriorates over time. The thin layer of insulation around copper conductors can crack, especially when heat and moisture are present, she says. Insulation can also rub off when wires chafe each other.

"All aircraft fly all year round, and they are all exposed to a variety of conditions," Furse says. Military aircraft, especially those that land on carriers, are especially prone to problems because of exposure to water. International Aviation Safety Association

Older planes, which used more vulnerable types of wiring, are especially at risk, Furse wrote. According to 1999 figures, 90 percent of the nation's 3,696 commercial planes were more than 10 years old.

Most of the time, nothing bad happens when wiring malfunctions, Furse says. A secondary system may kick in, or the wiring may have to be fixed. But on rare occasions, two wires short at the same time and link their loose electricity in an arc of fire -- a potential disaster.

Researchers are working on several solutions to the wiring problem, Furse says. One is an "arc-fault" circuit breaker, which can detect tiny fires much more quickly than traditional circuit breakers. Other researchers are looking at ways to improve the equipment that automatically fights fires inside planes. And Utah State University is working on a "self-checking" system that will monitor wiring systems from inside the plane.

Currently, mechanics often test passenger airplanes by lugging large pieces of equipment to the plane, and hooking them to the wiring systems.

"There are different signals sent down the wires to check for integrity and whether they have open circuits or shorts," Furse says. Some companies claim their machinery can detect breaks in the insulation of wiring.

This system is "definitely used and definitely important," Furse says. But she wrote such systems may not detect so-called "ticking faults" that occur during flights but disappear at other times.

The Utah State University research, funded by the federal government, should result in a self-check system that could eventually be used in cars, she adds. For instance, it may be able to detect if a car battery cable is broken.

But first, the system will appear in Navy planes, then in commercial aircraft.

"I don't expect to see it in cars for five or more years, but the technology is moving in that direction," she says.

In addition to funding research such as that at Utah State University, the federal government is addressing the issue of airplane wiring by holding public meetings on the subject. But a group of activists is demanding more be done.

"We have really made tremendous strides, but we're nowhere near close to where this all has to go," says Lyn Romano, chairwoman of the International Airline Safety Association. International Aviation Safety Association

Romano's husband, Ray, died in the Swiss Air 311 crash. She has since dedicated herself to publicizing the hazards of aircraft wiring, especially in older airplanes.

Romano says the current emphasis on catching problems before they happen is "wonderful," but that doesn't help the public learn about the dangers of flying certain types of aircraft. The federal government must do more, she notes.

"They have fallen short," she says. "People need to be made aware."

What To Do

If you fly, use your judgment when determining how much to worry about aircraft wiring. Some activists refuse to fly on certain types of planes. But Furse says fliers shouldn't panic.

If you'd like to read more about the problems of aircraft wiring, read this transcript of testimony before Congress by a representative of a wiring company. A representative of the FAA also testified; check out his testimony here.

For more information about activists who are working to improve aircraft wiring, visit the International Aviation Safety Association.