FAA approves AerSafe™ for additional Airbus aircraft to comply with fuel tank flammability reduction rule

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued an amended Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) to AerSale® for installation of its AerSafe system on Airbus 319 and 320 aircraft (ST04010NY), in compliance with the Fuel Tank Flammability Reduction (FTFR) rule.

This amended STC, originally issued for Airbus 321 aircraft, is in addition to AerSale’s STCs for the Boeing 767 series (ST03599NY), approved by the FAA in February 2018, as well as the Boeing 737 CL series (ST03589NY) and the Boeing 737 NG series (ST02980NY), both approved in 2016.

Tested and developed to exact tolerances to fill the cavity of the Airbus 319, 320, and 321 center fuel tanks, AerSafe limits the amount of available oxygen that can ignite fuel vapors and prevents sparks from igniting an explosion. AerSafe comes as a complete prefabricated kit that can be installed at any hangar around the world. After initial installation, the system requires no maintenance or spare parts. A limited number of AerSafe kits are currently available for immediate installation. For larger orders, the lead time for ordering AerSafe is currently 60 days versus the one-year lead time for the nitrogen inerting system.

The FAA enacted the FTFR rule after the crash of TWA flight 800 off the coast of New York. Federal investigations revealed that the accident was the result of an explosion caused by a spark igniting fumes in the center fuel tank of the Boeing 747. The FTFR rule requires fuel tank ignition sources and flammability exposure to be reduced in aircraft most at risk. The FAA gave two options: a flammability reduction means such as nitrogen inerting, or an ignition mitigation means such as AerSafe. These systems must be installed on all passenger aircraft that have high flammability fuel tanks and fly within or into the United States.