Fuel Tanks

Regulators are requiring U.S. airlines to modify fuel tanks to cut the risk of explosions such as the 1996 blast that downed TWA Flight 800. Complying with the new rule will cost about $1 billion over 35 years, said Robert Sturgell, acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. His estimate covers 2,730 passenger planes affected by the rule as well as new models. The FAA is trying to prevent a repeat of the TWA disaster off New York's Long Island and three others since 1989 that resulted in the deaths of 346 people.

Chrysler announced Thursday that it is recalling some 2013 Chrysler 200 and Dodge Avenger cars built from Oct. 30, 2012, through Nov. 2, 2012. The automaker said 1,785 of the cars may have a broken control valve in the fuel-tank assembly. The problem could result in an engine stall and potentially a crash if a car would stall while it is being driven. The same problem could result in a fuel leak, which might lead to a fire if the leak reaches an ignition source. Chrysler said it will notify owners of the affected vehicles, and that dealers will inspect the fuel-tank assembly and replace any defective control valves for free.

Mesa Services International in Ontario has won a $3.9-million contract from the Air Force to supply 370 fuel gallon tanks applicable to F-16 aircraft.

The investigation into why the Carnival Triumph went from cruise ship to floating crisis may last six months, the U.S. Coast Guard said Monday. Investigators released new insights into the early stages of how the 3,141-passenger, 1,086-crew-member Triumph became powerless and adrift last week in the Gulf of Mexico. A fire began in the ship's engine room after a flexible hose attached to a fuel line -- running from the fuel tanks to the engine -- began to leak, Coast Guard spokesman Carlos Diaz told the Los Angeles Times.

The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered immediate inspection of the center fuel tanks of Boeing 747 jetliners after receiving reports of worn fuel line parts that could result in fire or explosion. The airworthiness directive affects about 300 planes registered in the United States. U.S. operators affected by the order include Continental Airlines, FedEx, Northwest Airlines, TWA, United Airlines and United Parcel Service.

Ventura County will take over the supervision of approximately 140 leaking underground fuel tanks in the city of Ventura, a move that officials say will allow property owners to receive state grants to speed cleanup operations. The Board of Supervisors voted 3 to 2 Tuesday to approve the agreement with Ventura. Supervisors Judy Mikels and John Flynn opposed the action because it requires the hiring of a new staff person.

NASA engineers are focusing on a small misalignment of fuel tanks and spacecraft on two space shuttles as they search for the cause of hydrogen leaks that have grounded the shuttle fleet. The problem is throwing the shuttle schedule into disarray and threatens to postpone at least two missions this summer, officials said Monday.

The city will spend $500,000 to remove its underground fuel tanks and put in new ones that will meet new federal regulations, the City Council has decided. The council voted 4 to 0 Monday to approve plans for the project, and authorized the city engineer to seek bids. Councilman Steve Herfert was absent. Federal regulations require that all underground fuel storage tanks be replaced with double-walled tanks by Jan. 1, 1998, said Tom Parker, West Covina maintenance supervisor.

Investigators trying to learn why TWA Flight 800 exploded have installed monitors on the fuel tanks of a Boeing 747 and will measure vibrations and temperatures under various conditions during a rigorous set of tests. Data from the flight tests will be compared to what is known about the Flight 800 mystery nearly a year after the plane went down off Long Island, killing all 230 people on board. Investigators know that Flight 800's nearly empty center fuel tank exploded.

Saying the aviation industry's move to inspect fuel systems on 2,000 jet aircraft doesn't go far enough, the Federal Aviation Administration is considering ordering its own inspections to cover more of the worldwide fleet, FAA officials said.

A week after the Shell oil barge Kulluk hit shore near Kodiak Island, Alaska, officials are waiting on the weather to attempt a high-stakes rescue. The Kulluk, a 266-foot barge fresh off its inaugural drilling expedition in the Arctic, broke free from its tow lines in rough weather and hit the rocky shore on Sitkalidak Island hours before Alaskans rang in the New Year. The Kulluk remained grounded there Sunday, along with its 150,000 gallons of diesel and roughly 12,000 gallons of lube oil and hydraulic fluid, as Shell and Coast Guard officials made preparations to tow the barge 30 miles to safe harbor in Kiliuda Bay, Alaska.

Rescuers attached a tow line Sunday evening to an oil barge stranded against the rocky shore of an island off the coast of Alaska. But the delicate next steps, in which rescuers try to pull the slightly damaged barge to safety 30 miles away without losing any of its oil, were still uncertain. The Kulluk, a 266-foot barge fresh off its inaugural drilling expedition in the Arctic for Shell, broke free from its tow lines in rough weather and hit ground submerged just off the shoreline of Sitkalidak Island on Dec. 31. The barge remained upright but was partially damaged by waves.

SEATTLE - A salvage team was able to board the stranded Kulluk oil rig where it remained beached Wednesday on a remote Alaska shoreline, and authorities said there was still no evidence of fuel leakage into the churning surf. But questions remained about whether the fuel tanks aboard the vessel were completely undamaged, Coast Guard Capt. Paul Mehler, the federal response commander, said at a briefing Wednesday night. Authorities are primarily worried that fuel stored on board the vessel could leak and endanger the abundant wildlife that populates that part of the Gulf of Alaska - only a few hundred miles from where the Exxon Valdez leaked a tanker full of oil into Prince William Sound in 1989 and devastated fisheries for years.

On one stage of the Los Angeles Auto Show, BMW shows off "the cars of tomorrow," concepts powered by electricity. On another, Audi touts four new diesels. Ford, meanwhile, displays a tiny gasoline motor with an unprecedented mix of power and economy. With consumers and the government demanding ever-higher fuel economy, automakers are tripping over one another at this year's auto show to trumpet technologies that squeeze more miles out of a fuel tank or an electric charge. Until recently, peak fuel efficiency demanded a trade-off.

U.S. aviation regulators proposed to fine Boeing Co. $13.6 million for delays in telling airlines how to install devices on 383 aircraft to prevent fuel-tank explosions. Boeing was given a Dec. 27, 2010 deadline to submit instructions on how to add the systems in its U.S.-registered 747 jumbo jets and 757 single-aisle planes, according an e- mailed statement today by the Federal Aviation Administration. The Chicago-based company missed the deadline for 747s by 301 days, and was 406 days late for 757s, according to the FAA release.

A twin-engine plane that crashed shortly after takeoff in Long Beach last year, killing several prominent community members, was 653 pounds overweight and might have had water in its fuel tanks, according to National Transportation Safety Board records. Real estate broker and cycling activist Mark Bixby, 44, a descendant of one of the city's founding families, was among the five killed in the fiery crash of the Beech Super King 200 as it took off from Long Beach Airport for a Utah ski trip in March 2011.

Boeing Co. is asking airlines to inspect the center fuel tanks of their 747 jumbo jetliners as part of the investigation into the explosion of TWA Flight 800 off Long Island, N.Y., last July. The cause of the crash has yet to be determined, but federal investigators say an explosion ripped apart Flight 800's center wing tank. Boeing wants to determine if any changes in the tanks or procedures are needed, said Doug Webb, a spokesman at the Seattle-based company.

Documents released Monday show that General Motors Corp. knew in 1974 that the placement of fuel tanks in its full-size pickup trucks was unsafe, a consumer group says. Public Citizen said the 70,000 pages of documents, released by GM in Dallas, show that the auto maker was aware that the "side-saddle" position of fuel tanks made the trucks more vulnerable to puncture in an accident.

Regarding "Travel Buddies" by Catharine Hamm [On the Spot, Nov. 27]: I suggest to my elderly clients or their families that they get wheelchair assistance from the airlines. Not only does it save them long, tiring walks, but the airline personnel also ensure that they are at the right gates and assist in getting them to the baggage area, where a family member will be waiting. There is no cost. Sandee Litwin Litwin Travel Los Angeles We had the same problem when we wanted my father-in-law, who lives with us and has moderate Alzheimer's, to fly to Nashville to visit another son for Thanksgiving.

Ford Motor Co. is recalling more than 1 million pickup trucks, including the popular F-150, in the United States because corrosion problems can cause the vehicles to catch fire. Straps that hold the fuel tanks to the truck can corrode after heavy use, potentially leading to fires if the tank drops and leaks, Ford said Monday. The problem has caused one injury and three vehicle fires that Ford is aware of, the company said. The recall affects 1.22 million older trucks sold or registered in 21 states, Washington D.C. and Canada.