Originally Posted by
Carl Spackler
TWA 800 was going from JFK to Paris (CDG), and yes there would have been no need for center tank fuel on that short of a flight. The center tank has a scavenge pump, but even with that you can never get all of the liquid fuel out of that tank.
When you say "ignite", to you mean catch fire - or explode? And was the tank sealed or vented?
Carl
We had a C-141 on the ramp at Travis in 1995 undergoing maintenance. A newbie tech reset a fuel pump CB on an empty tank and it exploded....followed by 9 other tank explosions. Aircraft burned to the ground in about 7 minutes. The mechanics and a couple crew members got off unscathed. It was quite the scene though as rampers scrambled to tow adjacent aircraft out of the way. Looked a little like Pearl Harbor from my office window.
