PBL- I made no comment about Marciovp's posting- I was aware he was using someone else's posting.
The question of fire near terminals has been raised. What is wanted here? Aeroplanes are not in the habit of spontaneously igniting, though some do very infrequently. We don't see many 747s fully loaded with fuel go up on jetties. The whole point of having departure gates and jetties is to load people onto aeroplanes- that is what they are there for. So, you build the infrastructure, then do what fireproofing you can. Safety audits are carried out to ensure lack of combustible materials, very adequate fire escape routes and efficient fire services. What is expected now- that we keep all aeroplanes on remote stands/coach access only? On the basis of these concerns, we would not allow fuel tanks behind our children sitting in the back seats of cars, and has anybody thought of the dangers of allowing petrol stations next to major highways where out of control lorries could take them out? And they sell Butane cans as well! And good heavens, some people attach Calor gas cans to their caravans, while they sleep in them!
Where does it end? You have to accept there is an extremely minute risk of having aeroplanes hooked up to terminals. I doubt if this aeroplane had been hooked up to a jetty whether anybody would have been killed. Damage to building probably. This is a whole separae H & S issue that maybe deserves a separate thread to this one if you want to discuss it.
is it being suggested that a hard landing has caused this? If so I would be interested to know the dfdr readout, and also what vertical acceleration would be required to damage fuel supply lines. all in good time...
Any landing that left the undercarriage still attached, the wings still attached to the fuselage at a normal angle, the aeroplane still able to taxy to the apron, and the people aboard still able to walk, should not have damaged the engine
in any way! It would seem likely there is a technical cause. In view of the large number of such 737s and the lack of previous problems, it points suspicion towards a unique and individual maintenance issue.