Flight 800 Speculation

[Bill Greenwood]

I don't know what "fuel inerting" is, but one line was eye catching when I looked up Flight 800 on Wikipedia.
There is a long and detailed report on the accident and the investigation, for anyone who doesn't mind facts interfering with their favorite conspiracy story.
In the very last part it talks about stricter standards for new airline fuel tanks; then says that when the 787 was made, Boeing admitted that it would not meet these standards, so the FAA lowered the standards.
I didn't research it further and am not at all sure about this.

[martymayes]

I don't know what "fuel inerting" is, but one line was eye catching when I looked up Flight 800 on Wikipedia.
There is a long and detailed report on the accident and the investigation, for anyone who doesn't mind facts interfering with their favorite conspiracy story.
In the very last part it talks about stricter standards for new airline fuel tanks; then says that when the 787 was made, Boeing admitted that it would not meet these standards, so the FAA lowered the standards.
I didn't research it further and am not at all sure about this.

Bill, some groups want any airspace in a transport airplane fuel tank to be filled with a non-reactive, or inert gas, like nitrogen (for example). This would eliminate the possiblitly of any explosive vapors being present. No explosive vapors, no explosion. That may be the standard you are referring too as it was introduced in 2009, but thus far, all the players are getting work arounds. Nobody wants it.

[RV8505]

I have had the privilege of working on the 747 Classic for many years. Been in every fuel tank of series 100, 200, and 400 aircraft. Don't buy the vapor explosion theory, never did.
Most folks I know with experience on the plane share my feelings.
The statistics don't work. How many millions of safe flight hours and suddenly one just explodes? Frayed wires in the fuel tank or dry bay?
You would not believe how many fuel quantity issues I have seen that were caused by a loose wire on a probe...and no explosion.

+1. I worked fuel tanks as well and I also think it is B.S.

[rwanttaja]

Best argument I saw is that of the three major organizations involved in the investigation (NTSB, FBI, and Boeing), two had a strong interest in determining the cause was a missile. If sufficient evidence had existed, the FBI would taken over the investigation (huge PR impact and career lift), and Boeing's aircraft could not have been blamed.

The fact was, there were several prior cases of these fuel tanks exploding (albeit all on the ground). Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't frayed wiring. But tanks *had* exploded before. The FAA mandated some changes, and it hasn't happened again, since.

Ron Wanttaja

[Bill]

A substantial number of Boeing-built KC-135s have been lost, both in the air and on the ground, due to fuel-tank explosions resulting from faulty wiring. I lost six friends in one of the those incidents so I know that they happen.

[martymayes]

A substantial number of Boeing-built KC-135s have been lost, both in the air and on the ground, due to fuel-tank explosions resulting from faulty wiring. I lost six friends in one of the those incidents so I know that they happen.

The C-17 has an On-Board Inert Gas Generation System (OBIGGS) system. Should never have a fuel tank explosion cause the probablility has been reduced to zip.

A good conspiricist will never let facts get in the way of a sensational story.

[Bill]

The C-17 has an On-Board Inert Gas Generation System (OBIGGS) system. Should never have a fuel tank explosion cause the probablility has been reduced to zip.

A good conspiricist will never let facts get in the way of a sensational story.

So does the F-22. I beleive the F-35 also has an OBIGGS, but its been a long long time since I worked on the JSF and I don't trust my memory of that.

[58boner]

For the record "I am not a conspiracy theorist". Churches are full of people every Sunday pledging their faith to something no one can prove. Flight 800, the lone gunman, weapons of mass destruction, Just call me a skeptic.

[Frank Giger]

Oh my, I didn't realize that much like the cicada, it is once again time for the Flight 800 conspiracy theory to re-emerge from the hole it crawled into after a set number of years.

Like the cicada, there will be a lot of noise, some press coverage, and then it will seemingly die - but leave a sleeping grub in the dirt until it is time to wiggle out to be seen once again.

I do enjoy Cicada Stories, though, and wonder when the Loch Ness Monster, HAARP mind control/weather dominator/earthquake controller, 200 MPG carburetor, and Hollow Earth ones will return from their long slumber.