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New helicopters must have crash-resistant fuel tanks: FAA
October 22, 2015 By Bloomberg News
U.S. aviation regulators plan to require all newly built helicopters to have crash-resistant fuel tanks to cut the risks of leaks and deadly fires after accidents as part of the broadest effort in decades to improve rotor-aircraft safety.
The Federal Aviation Administration asked an advisory committee to draft new regulations requiring the technology, according to a Sept. 28 letter sent to the National Transportation Safety Board and posted on the agency’s website.
That marks a significant shift on a controversial safety issue that has been linked to more than 200 civilian deaths since 1994. The U.S. Army has cut casualties from fires after helicopter crashes with the use of bladder-like fuel tank linings developed during the Vietnam War, but some operators and manufacturers argued that such technology was too expensive and would hamper operations. | READ MORE
