Transmile Airlines Boeing 727-200 tank exploded in Bangalore

SN30952 · Post by **SN30952** » 13 Jul 2006, 17:18

Transmile Airlines Boeing 727-200 tank exploded in Bangalore on May 04.
The Boeing 727-200 freighter's wingtank apparently blew up while the plane was on the ground at Bangalore.

Remember the B737 of THAIhai that blew up minutes before the Thai premier was to board it in 2001. A Philippine Airlines 737 on the ground in 1999 was destroyed by the same cause, both aircraft an ground.
Remember also how a belly tank blew on TWA 800, a Boeing 747 in 1996 off Long Island, after it took off from Kennedy airport in New York on July 17, 1996? Also a hot month there? 230 people got killed.

The FAA was preparing a final rule that may require systems to prevent fuel-tank explosions to be retrofitted on all airliners.

The rule applied only to center tanks and not wing tanks

In this 727-200 case, the freighter was being towed when the left wing fuel tank exploded. Imagine the looks of the ground crew!

Already in 1999, severe wearing of wires and holes in the tubing on two 727s were found. Meanwhile the Philippine Airlines 737 had exploded.

What happens is that fuel vapours, and it can be hot in Bangalore in May, come in contact with hot wires, causing electrical arcing.
The FAA told the B727 operators to check aluminum tubes that carry electrical wires through the fuel tanks.
An inert gas has to be pumped into fuel tanks as they empty.
btw, Boeing is mulling to equip its 787 Dreamliner with such a system.

The 727 Bangalore-incident was leading Indonesia to forbid import of Boeing 737-200 aircraft in the same week after the explosion.

Bilboone · Post by **Bilboone** » 13 Jul 2006, 17:30

Link to some pictures of evidence of arcing from the wiring in the left fueltank (from a fuel boostpump) through the aluminium conduit.

I Have seen already a few times and repaired this typical arcing through conduits of fuel boostpump wiring on the rearspar (not in the fueltank) of an airbus A300B4.

SN30952 · Post by **SN30952** » 13 Jul 2006, 17:40

What causes the wearing of these wires, Bilboone?
Is it because they are situated in the wing?

Bilboone · Post by **Bilboone** » 13 Jul 2006, 19:05

Most of the time the arcing start due to chafing of the wires in the conduits. The wiring in de conduit is triple wire that is twisted, due to vibrations and temp changes this wiring start to chafe against the conduit and because wiring of a fuel pump is 3 phase 115 V and high power, over time the insulation of wiring is shaved through and create sparks and burn through the conduit, most of the time this happens at a drainhole of a conduit or due to some damage at the conduit. normally wiring is extra protected by an insulation sleeve but in time a due to contamination (like skydroll, water,...) this process starts faster.

SN30952 · Post by **SN30952** » 13 Jul 2006, 19:30

The solution is
a) better insulated wires?
b) separated conduit?

jan_olieslagers · Post by **jan_olieslagers** » 13 Jul 2006, 20:44

Bilboone wrote: but in time a due to contamination (like skydroll, water,...) this process starts faster.

could you kindly explain what "skydroll" stands for?
thanks in advance!

Bilboone · Post by **Bilboone** » 13 Jul 2006, 21:12

Skydrol is the hydraulic fluid is used in aircrafts, it breaks down plastics, paint, ... irritate skin and eyes when you contact it.

Link

jan_olieslagers · Post by **jan_olieslagers** » 13 Jul 2006, 21:20

Bilboone wrote:Skydrol is the hydraulic fluid is used in aircrafts, it breaks down plastics, paint, ... irritate skin and eyes when you contact it.

Link

Thank you! Guess it is much like the stuff we use to top up the brake* circuit in our car? Only up to stricter certification, of course, and at the tenfold price at least?

* and clutch, perhaps

Bilboone · Post by **Bilboone** » 14 Jul 2006, 06:54

Link to a nice Website about wiring problems on aircrafts.

picture of the Transmile 727-200

but I think mice in aircrafts are as bad as aging aircraft wiring.

http://www.iasa.com.au/folders/Safety_I ... siess.html

Advisor · Post by **Advisor** » 14 Jul 2006, 07:13

Bilboone wrote:Link to a nice Website about wiring problems on aircrafts.

picture of the Transmile 727-200

but I think mices in aircrafts are as bad as aging aircraft wiring.

http://www.iasa.com.au/folders/Safety_I ... siess.html

There are mice in aircraft.......which part of the world sir

SN30952 · Post by **SN30952** » 14 Jul 2006, 08:22

Bilboone wrote:Skydrol is the hydraulic fluid is used in aircrafts, it breaks down plastics, paint, ... irritate skin and eyes when you contact it.
Link

Yes, when you step in that 'drol' with rubber sole shoes you kind of ruin them. (no joke).
Some people are allergic to it. (My friend the station mechanic in Africa, said you could get an algerie from Skydrol (no joke! its allergy)
btw, Sabena was specialized in transporting Skydrol, we took it out of ATH to the ME and Africa. Sabena had in the '70 early '80 flights to FIH, JNB, NBO, BEY, IST, BGW, THR, CAI....
btw an other 'caustic' commodity Sabena carried was the secret formula juice to prepare Coke, the cola that is, the X something, was often on board, and also the juice the tabacco industry uses to mix with the tabacco, to make that unique flavour of their cigarettes, was carried... along with isotopes.

Some aircraft to Africa were real eco-disasters-to-happen. Maybe they still are?

I'm not sure some hospitals or their recycling company just dumped the stuff in the middle of 'nowhere'...

earthman · Post by **earthman** » 17 Jul 2006, 08:15

Advisor wrote:There are mice in aircraft.......which part of the world sir

Anywhere where there are mice, some of them are always trying to get free trips on planes. Whenever a mouse is spotted, the usual way to deal with it is to pump the plane full with CO2 (maybe that's what the dry ice is for that IndiGo wants everybody to carry 2kg of?) to suffocate the mice.