BOEING 757

FUEL AIRWORTHINESS LIMITATIONS

TRAINING MANUAL

In recent years the aviation industry has experienced a number of incidents or accidents involving fuel tank explosions in flight (B747, TWA800) and on the ground. These experiences suggest that on some aircraft types, the fuel tank system installation does not provide as high a level of protection against explosion as had been expected.

Following the accident investigation the FAA has issued a set of new rules related to fuel tank safety called SFAR 88 in 2001 that require fuel tank system design reviews, associated modification reviews and improved maintenance procedures and practices.

The JAA published INT/POL/25/12 in 2000 (later JAA TGL 47) with similar requirements. Later the EASA also mandated this policy requiring safety reviews of the fuel tank system installations based upon additional failure criteria. Where identified necessary by such safety reviews the introduction of corrective actions such as modifications, configuration critical items, improved maintenance practices and training are introduced.

Service history has shown that ignition sources have developed in aircraft fuel tanks due to unforeseen failure modes or factors that may not have been considered at the time of original certification of the aircraft.

The analysis conducted to show compliance with SFAR 88 and INT/POL/25/12 resulted in the need to define certain required inspection or maintenance items. Any item that is required to assure that an ignition source does not develop within the fuel tank or maintain protective features incorporated to preclude a catastrophic fuel tank ignition event must be incorporated in the limitation section of the instructions for continued airworthiness. These are known as fuel airworthiness limitations. Also, any information necessary to maintain those design features that have been defined in the original type design to preclude ignition sources should be identified. This information is essential to ensure that maintenance, repairs or modifications do not unintentionally violate the integrity of the original fuel system type design.

Rev. No : 02 Issue Date : 19/03/08

154

BOEING 757

TRAINING MANUAL

Fuel Airworthiness Limitations are items arising from a systems safety analysis that have been shown to have failure modes associated with an unsafe condition. These are identified in failure conditions for which an unacceptable probability of ignition risk could exist if specific tasks and/or practices are not followed.

Fuel airworthiness limitations fall into two categories:

Maintenanace/Inspection Tasks:

These are mandatory tasks and must be included in the operators maintenance program to be accomplished at the defined intervals.

Critical Design Configuration Control Limitations (CDCCL):

A CDCCL is a feature of the fuel system design the integrity of which must be maintained to ensure that unsafe conditions do not develop. CDCCL is a limitation requirement to preserve a critical ignition source prevention feature of the fuel system design that is necessary to prevent the occurrence of an unsafe condition. The purpose of the CDCCL is to provide instructions to retain the critical ignition source prevention feature during configuration change that may be caused by alterations, repairs, or maintenance actions. The manufacturers have revised their maintenance manuals to show where there is a feature that is idefined as CDCCL.

Following the design reviews of the fuel tank systems airworthines directives have been issued to prevent the potential for ignition sources inside fuel tanks caused by latent failures, alterations, repairs, or maintenance actions, which, in combination with flammable fuel vapors, could result in a fuel tank explosion and consequent loss of the airplane. These ADs require that fuel airworthiness limitations are incorporated in the limitation section of the instructions for continued airworthiness. The fuel airworthiness limitations for aircraft B757 are found in MPD Sect 9

Rev. No : 02 Issue Date : 19/03/08

155