NTSB warns of flaw that causes fires on regional jet

The National Transportation Safety Board issued an urgent warning Thursday that a popular commuter aircraft – used by USAirways among other carriers – has a potentially “catastrophic” flaw in its power system that has led to a series of seven fires aboard the planes.

The board issued seven recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration – four of them classified as “urgent” – for improvements to the Bombardier CRJ-200.

The NTSB said six of the seven fires, none of which caused fatalities, had occurred in the last six months. It urged the FAA to require Montreal-based Bombardier to make upgrades to protect against short-circuits that could disable the plane’s flight-control instruments.

“The problems identified in the Board’s letter must be corrected as soon as possible,” NTSB Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker said. “The potential consequences of these fires can be catastrophic.”

FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the agency is working with Canadian transportation authorities on a solution and expects to announce action soon.

The Bombardier CRJ series was first introduced in 1992, and according to the company 1,300 are now in service worldwide. The CRJ-200, which succeeded the original CRJ-100, is promoted on Bombardier’s Web site as “the world’s favourite 50-set jet,” with more than 1,000 in service. Aerospace America reported that the company announced plans to suspend production late last year because of slumping sales.

A spokesman for Bombardier could not be reached to comment.

The NTSB said that in four of the fires aboard the CRJ-200s, the crews temporarily lost the use of the planes’ Electronic Flight Information Systems – increasing the pilots’ workload during an emergency.

The board said the fires involved a surface material used on a switching device for the plane’s electric power system. It urged the FAA to require Bombardier to develop a way to separate its power sources to prevent the simultaneous loss of all panel displays, to develop and install protections against short-circuit and to evaluate emergency procedures to determine whether they can handle the fire risk.