The government has asked major airlines to sample the fuel tank wiring on Lockheed and McDonnell Douglas airplanes to determine if they need to undergo the mandatory wiring inspections recently ordered for Boeing aircraft. Among the planes that would be included in the survey are the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and the Lockheed L-1011, both wide-body aircraft with an engine on each wing and one on the tail. In addition, the affected planes would include the short-haul DC-9 and its derivative, the MD-80, McDonnell Douglas planes with an engine on each side of the tail. The request came from Thomas McSweeny, head of aircraft certification for the Federal Aviation Administration, in a recent letter to the Air Transport Association, the trade organization representing the nation’s largest air carriers. The FAA asked for a report within 90 days.
