Airlines Ordered to Cut Fuel-Tank Explosion Risk

ASHBURN, Va. -- Federal regulators adopted rules to reduce the threat of fuel-tank explosions, a move that will cost the airline industry at least $1 billion in the years ahead.

The new rules -- coming one day before the 12th anniversary of the fuel-tank explosion that killed 230 people aboard TWA Flight 800 -- call for many new and existing aircraft to be equipped with systems that reduce the oxygen level in fuel tanks.

Regulators say that will greatly diminish the possibility of a stray spark igniting hot fuel vapors inside tanks, an occurrence the Federal Aviation Administration cites in ...