FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp., has unveiled the industry's first onboard automatic fire suppression system (FSS), elevating the level of safety during international, overwater flights.

The fire safety system is the result of seven years of design and development efforts at FedEx Express, and expands upon the company's existing commitment to advancing aviation safety.

"The in-flight safety of crew and cargo is a top priority at FedEx Express, leading to our development of this enhanced fire-safety technology," said Joel Murdock, managing director, strategic projects, FedEx Express. "We're proud to see this proprietary technology take flight on a variety of aircraft in the FedEx fleet, representing another strong step forward in our air-safety initiatives."

In April 2009, FedEx Express began installing of the FSS technology on MD-11 freighters. Each installation requires approximately 700 man hours and will be completed on the company's 59 MD-11 aircraft in early 2011. FedEx Express also plans to install the FSS technology on new Boeing 777 Freighters, which begin international service in company's fleet in early 2010. In all, 74 FedEx wide-body planes used for international, over-water flights will be upgraded with the technology.

The FSS features a network of infrared thermal sensors, foaming agent generators and an overhead cargo-container injector. If heat is detected by the sensors, the fire suppression technology located above each cargo container is activated, simultaneously alerting crew members.

The metal container is pierced by an injector apparatus and filled with an argon-based biodegradable and non-corrosive fire-suppression foam that controls and extinguishes the fire in minutes.

Cargo in other containers is unaffected by the system's activation, and the foam has only minimal impact on packages housed within the container.

For palletized freight, a special fire retardant blanket is used to cover the cargo; it restricts the level of oxygen around freight, effectively serving as a fire suppression tool.

According to the company, in extensive testing, the FedEx FSS proved quick and effective on classes of fires, demonstrating its capability of protecting aircraft, crew and customer shipments from fires started by:

• Ordinary materials such as paper or lumber (Class A)

• Flammable or combustible liquids such as gasoline or kerosene (Class B)

• Combustible metals such as lithium, magnesium titanium, potassium and sodium, which burn at extremely high temperatures (Class D)

Fedex Express said no other aircraft fire safety system in use today is effective against Class D fires. Shipments that are subject to what would be considered Class C fires (electrical equipment, for example) will continue to be carried separately in the aircraft's lower belly compartment, and are safeguarded with the industry standard halon bottle system.

A majority of fire safety systems currently in use onboard cargo aircraft require manual activation by a crewmember. In addition, many systems only address fires that could potentially occur in containers holding cargo that must be declared and labeled by shippers as being dangerous goods. Yet most cargo fires originate from undeclared dangerous goods, posing additional challenges to existing fire suppression systems.

"Because of its unique overhead design and automatic activation, the FedEx FSS technology overcomes this challenge by suppressing fires contained within any cargo container or pallet on the main flight deck," the firm stated.

"Our new inflight system has pushed the industry safety standard to a new level. Our pilots have more time to review and assess an in-air situation, further ensuring their safety, and the safety of their plane and cargo," FedEx Express added.