Word: fuel
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...comes the war: logging managers say this year's fires are in some ways the result of insufficient logging, which led to the buildup of dense "fuel loads" that, given this summer's conditions (drought and dry heat) produce fires so hot they create their own fierce weather systems: fire winds and exploding trees...
...already among the most expensive aircraft to operate in history. The Boeing 747, by contrast, carries four times as many people as the Concorde but costs half as much to maintain. The fixes to the supersonic plane could include tires that resist rupture and explosion, reinforcing the protection of fuel tanks and perhaps coating the underside of the wings with tough materials like kevlar. Even minor changes would be uneconomical. Says R.E.G. Davies, curator of air transport at the National Air and Space Museum, who has written a book on the Concorde: "If it needs yet more money spent...
...French authorities investigating the July 25 crash of Air France's Flight 4590 that killed 113 people reached a preliminary conclusion that the accident was set in motion by a ruptured tire. Pierced by a strip of metal, the tire virtually exploded, sending bits of rubber into the huge fuel tanks in the Concorde's wings. "It is clear to us all that a tire burst alone should never cause a loss of a public-transport aircraft," said Sir Malcolm Field, head of Britain's Civil Aviation Authority. The British say the Concordes are to remain parked until "appropriate measures...
...According to the most recent analysis, an electrical short circuit caused the center-wing fuel tank on the Boeing 747 to explode. But beyond that general consensus, nobody knows exactly why. Except, of course, the rabble-rousers: Federal investigators, who've spent much of the last four years up to their elbows in this convoluted case, bristle at conspiracy theorists' continued accusations that the NTSB and FAA are covering up the true cause of the crash. Early speculation that terrorist action brought the plane down was quickly discounted, but several passengers' family members and a few enthusiastic intrigue-seekers have...
...onslaught of lawsuits, they have studiously avoided shouldering any of the blame for the accident. But they are also stung by four years of doubts over the safety of their products, and, hoping to stave off a purchasing downturn, launched their own intensive inquiry into the planes' electrical and fuel systems. While the scrutiny turned up no specific problems, the specter of the accident was enough to spur the company to implement numerous prophylactic measures - such as installing protective covering on wires and tools to suppress power surges - that would both serve to allay public fears and further narrow...