Crash-resistant aircraft fuel systems have existed for years — pioneered by Flight Safety Foundation researcher S. Harry Robertson — but current U.S. law requires their installation only in helicopter models that were certified after 1994.
That will change later this year, when helicopters manufactured after April 5 – regardless of when that model was certified — will be prohibited under a 2018 law from flying in U.S. airspace unless they are certified with crash-resistant systems. The provision will not apply to older helicopters, which will not need to be retrofitted with the systems.
