Inspections Lead To Replacement Of Pumps

Inspections of fuel pump assemblies on Boeing 747 and 757 airliners have turned up defects or deterioration in about one of every 25 pumps, the Federal Aviation Administration says.

The FAA ordered the inspections March 14 out of concern that leaking fuel pumps cause fires.

That order was based on a recommendation that Boeing made in August 1995, predating the explosion in July that brought down TWA Flight 800 off the coast of New York’s Long Island. Investigators say the explosion was in that 747’s nearly empty central fuel tank, but they have not yet concluded what caused the blast.

As of Thursday, 278 of the more than 600 747s and 757s registered in the United States had been inspected, and 67 fuel pumps were replaced, Mitch Barker, an FAA spokesman, told The News Tribune of Tacoma.

The newspaper did not give a breakdown on how many pumps were inspected to produce the one-in-25 figure that it reported. A jet such as the 747 can have as many as 16 pumps.

Boeing said it had asked operators of 747s to inspect the pump assemblies in 1995 after fuel leaking from a plane on the ground caused a fire.

No leaks were reported on 757s, but that aircraft was included in the FAA order because it uses a similar pump and wiring design.