(and surely was NOT an aircraft that could support a powerful,overheating monster of an entertainment system)

From an old copy of Air Safety Week:

April Shower of Directives Suggests Electrical
Design Flaws for MD-11

The list of actions to
correct electrical system deficiencies in MD-11 aircraft
continues to grow, presenting operators with an in-creasing
burden of repairs.

In its latest spate of
activity, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
published eight airworthiness directives on a single day
last week. All of them dealt with various aspects of
the aircraft's electrical system. It would seem that
the airplane's electrical system is being rebuilt a
piece at a time. In the latest round, operators are
faced with the problem of scheduling work to satisfy
compliance times of six months or one year.

The
latest batch of ADs follows 15 that were issued in
February, and one issued earlier this month on the cockpit
map lights (see ASW, March 6, March 27, and April
10). All of these ADs appear to be an outgrowth of the
Sept. 1998 fatal crash of a Swissair MD-11 at Halifax.
An electrical fire is suspected. The latest batch of
8 ADs brings to 55 the number of ADs issued in the
roughly 20 months since the crash. That's five times the
number of ADs published on the MD-11 over the 20 months
before the crash.

As in the February flurry of
ADs, April's shower of activity hints at an original
equipment design fault (incompatible CB's and connector
ratings). If that flaw escaped FAA notice during
certification, the oversight is now neatly camouflaged by
airworthiness directive. The FAA was asked if further ADs can
be expected; an answer was not provided by our press
time.

Eight More MD-11 Mandated Fixes
MD-11: AD,
final rule, requires a one-time detailed visual
inspection of the electrical connections to detect
corrosion; repair, if necessary; and installation of new
circuit breakers and associated wiring. The actions are
intended to prevent a disparity between the ratings of
certain circuit breakers and their associated electrical
connector contacts. Completion date of one year. Docket No.
99-NM-264-AD; Amendment 39-11669; AD 2000-07-15.

MD-11:
AD, final rule, requires a general visual inspection
of wiring behind the control panel of the auxiliary
power unit (APU) located in the cockpit to detect
chafing; repair if necessary; and modification of the
wiring. The actions are intended to prevent such chafing
and resultant arcing due to insufficient clearance
between the wire bundles and the airplane structure.
Completion date of one year. Docket No. 99-NM-270-AD;
Amendment 39-11675; AD 2000-07-21.

MD-11 and
MD-11F: AD, final rule, requires a one-time detailed
visual inspection of the generator power feeder wires to
detect chafed or damage wires; repair, if necessary; and
a modification of the generator power feeder wire
installation. The actions are intended to prevent chafed and
burnt generator power feeder wires. Completion date of
six months. Docket No. 99-NM-267-AD; Amendment
39-11672; AD 2000-07-18.

MD-11: AD, final rule,
requires a one-time detailed visual inspection of a
certain passenger seat wire assembly to detect chafed or
damaged wires; repair, if necessary; and installation of
protective sleeving. The actions are intended to prevent
chafing of the passenger seat wire assembly against a
bracket at the lower sidewall panel due to insufficient
clearance between the bracket and seat wire assembly.
Completion date of six months. Docket No. 99-NM-263-AD;
Amendment 39-11668; AD 2000-07-14.

MD-11: AD, final
rule, requires electrical resistance measurements of
the ground studs of the No. 2 generator in the
electrical power center of the center accessory compartment
for proper electrical bonding and of the ground studs
and circuit breaker terminations in the forward cargo
compartment to detect looseness and for proper electrical
bonding; and corrective actions, if necessary. The actions
are intended to prevent arcing and overheating of
terminals and consequent smoke and fire in the forward
cargo compartment. Completion date of one year. Docket
No. 99-NM-269-AD; Amendment 39-11674; AD 2000-07-20.

MD-11 and MD-11F: AD, final rule, requires modification
of the external power feeder cable clamping
installation. This amendment also requires a detailed visual
inspection of the external power feeder cables to detect
chafed or damaged wires; and repair, if necessary. The
actions are intended to prevent arcing from occurring
under the forward cargo compartment floor as a result
of damaged external power feeder cables. Completion
date of one year. Docket No. 99-NM-265-AD; Amendment
39-11670; AD 2000-07-16.

MD-11: AD, final rule,
requires a general visual inspection to verify that the
circuit breaker panel fully opens, follow-on inspections,
and corrective actions, if necessary. The actions are
intended to ensure that the upper main circuit breaker
panel opens fully. Completion date of six months.
Docket No. 99-NM-266-AD; Amendment 39-11671; AD 2000-07-
17.

MD-11: AD, final rule, requires a
detailed visual inspection of the external power feeder
cables in the forward cargo compartment between certain
stations to detect chafing or damage; repair, if
necessary; and installation of spiral wrap. The actions are
intended to prevent chafing and damage to external ground
power feeder cables. Completion date of one year.
Docket No. 99-NM-268-AD; Amendment 39-11673; AD
2000-07-19.

Contact: Brett Portwood, FAA, tel.
562/627-5350; fax 562/627-5210.