While statistics show that travelers are more likely to be involved in a car accident on their way to the airport than in an actual airplane crash, such statistics do little to dispel or calm the fears of many anxious fliers. Though they may be few and far between, airplane crashes are often horrific and fatal to all those aboard. Take for example the ill-fated and now infamous TWA Flight 800. Back in 1996, the flight took off from JFK Airport in New York City, bound for Rome, Italy. Just minutes after takeoff, the flight exploded in mid-air and crashed straight into the Atlantic Ocean. All 230 passengers and crew onboard were killed. After a lengthy four-year investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), it was determined that the cause of the accident was an explosion in a fuel tank, most likely caused by faulty wiring. As dangerous and hazardous as it is, faulty wiring in commercial aircraft is far more common than most believe. Airplanes have many kilometers of wiring bundled up within its structure; as the plane begins to age, such wiring can fray, crack, and become brittle, resulting in hazardous wiring faults. Given the amount of wiring within a single plane, miniscule wiring faults can be difficult to detect and locate and is believed to be present in more than one-third of the commercial air fleet currently in operation. LiveWire Test Labs has created new aircraft technology aimed at locating faulty wiring within a commercial plane and other high-noise environments. Known as an electrical circuit test, the tiny device can detect and locate potentially hazardous faulty wiring within an accuracy of +/- 2% over distances from a just few inches to hundreds of meters. No larger than a thumbprint, an electrical circuit test is not only a life-saving technology, it also saves airlines thousands of dollars in troubleshooting costs and reduces the number of hours planes must be grounded for such troubleshooting.
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