> ...tell you from personal experience that I give great credence to the fuel tank
> fume blast, now that I know that the wire harnesses in that area were insulated
> with kapton. Under the proper conditions kapton can be very explosive and
> flammable.
mike, i have never worried much about how a crippled plane could descend faster than freefall in a vacuum: tail control surfaces could issue a down command or the craft could have turned over, etc, under full thrust. all bets are off after a plane comes apart.
but i must admit, this scenario of a bad wire causing an explosion of fumes inside the tank i have found troubling. i would think the vapor pressure of the kerosene would displace oxygen sufficiently to prevent much oxygen from getting inside the tank, even if scuffed or degraded insulation causes a spark.