FAA proposes safety changes to 737s
     NEW YORK -- April 16, 1998 3:50 p.m. EDT -- The Federal Aviation
 Administration on Thursday proposed mandatory changes to fuel system
 wiring and vent systems of early-model Boeing 737s, the most widely
 used commercial airplane, an FAA spokesman told CNN.
     The proposed directive would require airlines to shield or sep-
 arate wires routed to fuel tanks from other wiring in the jets, and
 to install electrical surge-suppression systems, FAA spokesman Les
 Dorr said.
     It also would require installing flame arrestors and pressure
 relief valves in the jets' fuel vent systems to keep flames outside
 a 737 from entering its fuel system through its wingtip fuel vents.
     The proposals stem from the probe into the explosion of TWA
 Flight 800, and mirror a proposed airworthiness directive the FAA
 issued for older Boeing 747s on November 26, 1997. Those 747s use
 the same wiring systems.
     There also was a recommendation by the National Transportation
 Safety Board, issued April 7, for sweeping inspections as well as
 design and equipment changes in several plane models.
     The 45-day comment period on the latest proposed directive began
 Thursday. The directive, if made permanent, will require compliance
 within one year. The FAA estimates the cost of the changes at $36,000
 per plane, Dorr said.
     All 230 people aboard TWA Flight 800 were killed on July 17,
 1996, shortly after the Paris-bound jet took off from Long Island,
 New York.
     The cause of the crash has not been determined, but investigators
 have reported finding corroded wires bundled together on that 747 and
 on other planes.
     One of several crash theories for Flight 800 is that electricity
 might have jumped from a corroded high voltage wire to one of the low
 voltage cables that lead to fuel quantity gauges in the plane's
 center fuel tank.
     Thursday's FAA proposal would launch an effort to prevent such
 an electrical leak from happening.
     The FAA can require the aviation industry to take action. The
 National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates crashes,
 can only recommend changes.
     The FAA proposal would affect Boeing models 737-100, -200, -300,
 -400 and -500. There are about 1,140 of these planes in service in
 the United States, and 2,800 worldwide. The proposal would not apply
 to newer 737s.
 --------------------------------------------------------------------
           Berlin marking 50th anniversary of airlift
     BERLIN - April 16, 1998 5:25 p.m. EDT -- A yearlong celebration
 marking the 50th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift kicked off Thurs-
 day, commemorating the heroic effort that came after the Soviet
 Union blockaded West Berlin at the onset of the Cold War.
     Berlin Mayor Eberhard Diepgen laid a wreath at a plaque honoring
 U.S. Gen. Lucius D. Clay, the military governor of the U.S.-occupied
 zone in West Germany at the time. Clay, known as the "father of the
 Berlin Airlift," died exactly 20 years ago.
     Diepgen praised Clay not only for saving West Berliners from
 starvation, but also for securing freedom and democracy for the
 city.
     The capital is planning a series of exhibits, conferences, con-
 certs and other events to commemorate the historic airlift. President
 Clinton is expected in Berlin on May 13-14 to join the ceremonies.
     The Americans, British and French launched the airlift June 26,
 1948, two days after the Soviet Union cut off all land and water
 routes to the western half of the city in an attempt to force out
 the remaining Allies and eliminate the only Western presence in the
 eastern half of Germany.
     The blockade continued for a little under a year, but the stran-
 glehold was finally released May 12, 1949. The airlift continued
 until the end of September while roads, rails and canals were
 inspected.
     American and British planes flew about 278,000 flights, deliver-
 ing 2.3 million tons of food, fuel -- mostly coal -- and medical
 supplies to some 2 million West Berliners. At times, a plane was
 landing in Berlin every minute from 11 staging areas in West
 Germany.
     The planes became known as "candy bombers" because pilots tossed
 sweets to children below as they flew over the city. They also flew
 out millions of dollars worth of products manufactured in West
 Berlin.
     Seventy-eight Allied soldiers and Germans died during the opera-
 tion, which employed tens of thousands.
 ===
--- DB 1.39/004487
---------------