Not equal...the 747 probably has positive pressure using a ram-air NACA vent. The ram-air vent wouldn't provide enough pressure to blow the wing apart...just enough pressure to keep the fuel 'flowing' in the right direction (simply put).. Walter DCA ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gerard M Foley" <gfoley@columbus.rr.com> To: <AIRLINE@LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU> > <snip> > > > Nor was it likely the plane suffered a center fuel tank explosion > similar > > to the one that brought down TWA Flight 800 near New York in 1996. The > > China Airlines plane was at an altitude where there would not have been > > enough oxygen to support such an explosion, and the tank would likely have > > been far too cold for that to have happened. > > Except for altitude, this crash certainly sounds like a rerun of Flight 800. > Are the empty tanks vented so that they are quickly in equilibrium with the > outside air? > > Gerry > http://home.columbus.rr.com > http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/pollock/263/egypt/egypt.html >