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(Washington-AP) -- A new report says in-flight airline entertainment systems are still malfunctioning -- five years after one system caused an onboard fire and plane crash.
According to U-S-A Today, U-S airlines have sent the Federal Aviation Administration 60 so-called service difficulty reports about in-flight entertainment systems since the 1998 Swissair crash off the coast of Nova Scotia. Many of those reports involved fire, smoke, sparks or a burning odor in the passenger cabin.
A consulting company that analyzes data for aircraft operators says more incidents probably go unreported than are reported.
After the Swissair crash, the F-A-A sent 22 orders to modify, repair or ban entertainment systems installed as replacements between 1992 and 2000. The agency says it has made sure no system has the same design features as the one on the Swissair aircraft.
About 45 percent of large planes throughout the world have entertainment systems, including overhead movie screens and individual screens with movies, games, shopping or gambling.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
