Wire find should ring bells |
|
Wire find should ring bells |
|
By RICHARD DOOLEY -- The Daily News
Wires from the Swissair Flight 111 crash found without
insulation should be ringing alarm bells for investigators and
airlines, according to a U.S.-based wiring expert.
Ed Block, a member of a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration
committee on aging aircraft, said revelations that some of the
wire retrieved from the Sept. 2 crash site had no insulation,
could indicate an electrical fire in the wir-ing system.
"That's a real interesting point to bring out," he said in an
interview from his Philadelphia home.
Block said tests would have to be done on the metal portion of
the wire to determine how the insulation was stripped off.
"If the wire is embrittled, then that's an indicator of an
electrical-short fire," said Block.
Flight 111 crashed about 16 minutes after its pilots reported
smelling and seeing smoke in the cockpit. All 229 people on
board the plane died when it plunged into the sea.
Metal from wires found in the crash zone has been sent to the
Transportation Safety Board laboratories for testing.
Board spokesman Jim Harris said metallurgists will test the wire
to see where it came from onboard the MD-11 airplane.
He said investigators aren't sure if the wires are bare because
the insulation burned off or if it was stripped off in the impact
of the crash.
"We just don't know at this point," he said.
The FAA has issued two air-worthiness directives concerning
MD-11 wiring since December as a direct result of the Swissair
accident investigation.
The directives call for immediate inspection and repair of wiring
problems.
Block said more needs to be done. He's calling for periodical
inspections of aircraft wiring.
"This is an ongoing problem," he said.
|
Monday, February 1, 1999 Fuel dump in question By RICHARD DOOLEY -- The Daily News Each answer Swissair Flight 111 crash investigators come up with prompts a host of new questions. The latest is over what happened to Flight 111's load of fuel minutes before it crashed off Peggy's Cove Sept. 2 killing all 229 passengers and crew on board. Both the valves used to dump fuel, making the plane lighter in an emergency landing, were closed at the time of impact. But investigators from Canada's Transportation Safety Board aren't sure what that means yet. "The analysis is ongoing, " said board spokesman Jim Harris "That is still an open question." Just before the plane went down pilot Urs Zimmermann and co-pilot Stephan Loew veered west and then south off their flight path towards Halifax International Airport and swung over the Head of St. Margaret's Bay looking to lose altitude and fuel before making their approach to the runway. Minutes later the plane crashed about 10 kilometres southwest of Peggy's Cove, near rocky Pearl Island. Dumping fuel is standard procedure before an emergency landing, but so far investigators have only found traces of fuel on land near Blandford. It hasn't been determined if the fuel came from the Swissair plane. Airplanes equipped with fuel sensors detected fuel in the St. Margaret's Bay area days after the crash. Searchers reported a strong smell of aviation fuel the night of the crash in St. Margaret's Bay, but there is no data on the plane's black box to indicate a fuel dump had taken place. Investigators don't know for certain if fuel was dumped and then the valves closed or if problems aboard the jet kept the valves shut, preventing the crew from dumping fuel. Once technicians test the valves to determine if current was running to them from the plane's power supply, it will help piece together which systems aboard the huge jet were working at the time of impact. |
 |
|
|
