Philippine Airlines

Philippine Airlines

Philippine Airlines, Inc. operating as Philippine Airlines, is a flag carrier of the Philippines. Headquartered in the Philippine National Bank Financial Center in Pasay City, the airline was founded in 1941 and is the first and oldest commercial airline in Asia operating under its original name...

 Flight 143 (PR146) was the route designator of a domestic flight from the Manila Ninoy Aquino Airport

Ninoy Aquino International Airport

The Ninoy Aquino International Airport or NAIA , also known as Manila International Airport , is the airport serving the general area of Manila and its surrounding metropolitan area...

, Metro Manila

Metro Manila

Metropolitan Manila , the National Capital Region , or simply Metro Manila, is the metropolitan region encompassing the City of Manila and its surrounding areas in the Philippines...

, Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 to Mandurriao Airport

Mandurriao Airport

Mandurriao Airport , also known as Iloilo Airport during its operation, was the main airport serving the area of Iloilo City and the province of Iloilo in the Philippines. The airport was located five kilometers northwest of downtown Iloilo City in the district of Mandurriao...

, Iloilo City

Iloilo City

The City of Iloilo is a highly urbanized city in the Philippines and the capital city of Iloilo province. It is the regional center of the Western Visayas, as well as the center of the Iloilo-Guimaras Metropolitan Area...

. On May 11, 1990, the Boeing 737-300

Boeing 737

The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...

 (C/N 24466, MSN 1771) assigned to that route exploded and burned on the ground at Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport

Ninoy Aquino International Airport

The Ninoy Aquino International Airport or NAIA , also known as Manila International Airport , is the airport serving the general area of Manila and its surrounding metropolitan area...

.

Accident

The air temperature was high at the time of the accident, about 35 °C (95 °F), while the Boeing 737 was parked at Manila. The air conditioning packs, located beneath the center wing fuel tank of the 737 had been running on the ground before pushback (approximately 30 to 45 minutes). The center wing fuel tank, which had not been filled since March 9, 1990, probably contained some fuel vapors. Shortly after pushback a powerful explosion in the center fuel tank pushed the cabin floor violently upwards. The wing tanks ruptured, causing the airplane to burst into flames. The vapors ignited probably due to damaged wiring; no bomb, incendiary device or detonator had been found. The airline had fitted logo lights after delivery which required passing additional wires through the vapor seals in the fuel tanks. The NTSB recommended to the FAA that an Airworthiness Directive

Airworthiness Directive

An Airworthiness Directive is a notification to owners and operators of certified aircraft that a known safety deficiency with a particular model of aircraft, engine, avionics or other system exists and must be corrected....

 be issued requiring inspections of the fuel boost pumps, float switch and wiring looms as signs of chafing had been found. The FAA declined to issue the Airworthiness Directive.

The accident has been linked to other similar accidents involving fuel tank explosions, most notably the TWA Flight 800

TWA Flight 800

Trans World Airlines Flight 800 , a Boeing 747-131, exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 20:31 EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff, killing all 230 persons on board. At the time, it was the second-deadliest U.S...

 incident. Other related accidents include Pan Am Flight 214

Pan Am Flight 214

Pan Am Flight 214, a Boeing 707-121 registered as , was en route from Baltimore to Philadelphia on December 8, 1963, when it crashed near Elkton, Maryland after being hit by lightning, killing all 81 on board.-Flight history:...

 and Avianca Flight 203

Avianca Flight 203

Avianca Airlines Flight 203 was a Colombian domestic passenger flight from El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá to Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport in Cali. It was destroyed by a bomb over the municipality of Soacha on November 27, 1989....

.

Fatalities

There were 8 fatalities among the 120 on-board passengers and crew from the violent explosion on the ground at Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport

Ninoy Aquino International Airport

The Ninoy Aquino International Airport or NAIA , also known as Manila International Airport , is the airport serving the general area of Manila and its surrounding metropolitan area...

. There were no ground fatalities or injuries from the explosion.