FAA expedites Boeing windshield inspection order after cockpit fire

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FAA expedites windshield inspection order after cockpit fire
By Mike M. Ahlers, CNN

May 19, 2010 11:22 a.m. EDT


Washington (CNN) -- The Federal Aviation Administration is expediting an order requiring airlines to inspect windshield heaters on Boeing jets following an incident Sunday in which a fire broke out in the cockpit of a United Airlines B-757, shattering the plane's windshield and forcing an emergency landing.

The FAA said an investigation into Sunday's incident is ongoing, and that the cause of the fire has not been established. But it said the incident prompted the agency to review the windshield heater issue and to speed up the inspection order.

FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the agency will issue the order "as fast as possible," but that the date is still unclear. Originally, it was to be released in August.

Both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating whether Sunday's fire aboard United flight 27 is related to the windshield heater or some other cause. The plane, traveling from New York to Los Angles, California, was about a half hour into its flight when a fire broke out near the plane's windshield, shattering the windshield in "a loud explosion," passenger Joe Frank said the pilot later told him. .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/05/19/plane.windshield.heaters/