Why hasn't their ever been a fuel tank explosion on a commercial airliner before TWA flight 800?

Answer 1

Bound to happen sometime.
Flight 800 just happened to be the first.

Answer 2

a touch properly-known actuality: The airplane in TWA flight 800 replaced into the sixteenth 747 to come back off the production line. starting up with decision 17, Boeing replaced the wiring scheme contained in the gas tank to make it a lot less weak to inner shorts and explosions. Of the first 16, all 15 have considering exploded. (i have self belief the first one is in a museum) not all of them were using gas tank explosions. One replaced into Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, one replaced into the Korean Air 747 shot down by skill of the Soviet protection rigidity, one replaced into operated by skill of Iran and shot down by skill of US forces. 2 were destroyed at Tenerife. a number of those even if were gas-tank explosions inspite of the actuality that TWA 800 replaced into the purely one to take position in flight. the project with gas tank explosions does not translate to autos because there isn't any inner wiring interior a motor vehicle's gas tank. it really is a larger difficulty in aicraft because the middle tank isn't typically used, and therefore does not include sufficient gas interior to maintain a non-flamable gas-air mix. via the years, vapors can strengthen and a flammable ratio should be obtained. This has been a difficulty for years and it really is easily not unique to the 747-one hundred. opposite to what the conspiracy specialists may have you ever have self belief, it really is an exact reproducible concern and the superb gas-air ratio can exist very actual interior those tanks. there replaced into easily no information of a missile, both from RADAR pictures or otherwise. Eye-witness comments are notoriously erroneous. this style of missile that supposedly hit the airplane replaced right into a warmth-in search of style. That missile may have impacted at a warm aspect excellent? Like an engine? not on the truly chilly center gas tank the position the explosion originated.

Answer 3

Because it was on 800 that they discovered there WAS a problem - it was unknown before that, though it existed.

The electrics were subsequently insulated.