FAA stops short of requiring TPMS on aircraft

ERJ staff report (DS)

Washington DC -- The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has rejected advice from an expert committe and will not require civil aircraft to fit tyre pressure monitoring systems. Instead, the FAA has issued a Safety Alert, which, "emphasises the necessity for operators of all aircraft and especially the Learjet Model 60, to maintain the correct tyre pressure."

In April, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) called for tyre pressure monitoring equipment to be fitted to all commercial aircraft. The call came after the NTSB's investigation into a 2008 incident in which severely under-inflated tyres led to the deaths of four people and serious injury to two well-known music industry personalities.

The Safety Alerty for Operators issued by the FAA yesterday merely underlines that operators should check tyre pressures periodically and says pressure shold be checked with a calibrated guage when the tyres are cold.

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Safety Alert from FAA

Press release from NTSB (April recommendations)