FAA considers jetliner fuel tank retrofit

Operators of hundreds of Airbus and Boeing jetliners will be required to retrofit fuel-tank flammability reduction systems, if the FAA adopts rulemaking it is considering to propose later this year. It was not immediately clear if the retrofit rule would apply to non-airline operators, but the FAA said the requirement would cover about 3,800 airframes over the next seven years, with Boeing 737s and 747s and Airbus A320s to be retrofitted first. The FAA’s preliminary estimate puts the retrofit cost at between $185,000 and $220,000 per airplane.