I'm a Boeing driver but I am no fan of Boeing center tank design. As mentioned earlier, besides the TW800 center tank explosion, there are two well documented B737 center tank explosions.
The Boeing center tank design flaw is that the center tank pumps are
inside the center tank. Because the center tank fuel is used before the main tank fuel there is always the chance of having the center tank pump(s) still running long after the tank is empty. When pumps run dry they overheat. Automatic shutoff switching or thermal overheat cut-off switching can be faulty.
The superlative center tank pump design dates back to the mid 50s when the DC8 was designed. The visionary Mr. Douglas had positioned the center tank fuel pump inside the adjacent main tank, a fail safe design that provides continuous cooling in case the pump doesn't get shut off when the center tank goes dry.
Repositioning Boeing center tank fuel pumps into an adjacent main tank would preclude the greatest volatility of center tank explosions.
