PROMISES, PROMISES: FAA slow on cockpit fires

WASHINGTON (AP) - Faulty cockpit window heaters on Boeing airplanes haven't been repaired despite years of complaints, The Associated Press found in a search of a NASA safety database.

The heaters have burned, smoldered or sent electric currents dancing across cockpit windows since at least 2002. Safety investigators have traced the problem to a loose screw.

In some incidents, flames would reappear after flight crews had blasted them with fire extinguishers. In many cases, the window heater would cause an inside ply of windshield to shatter into spidery cracks that obstructed pilots' view.

The National Transportation Safety Board has prodded the Federal Aviation Administration to make airlines fix the problem, but the FAA has yet to mandate the repairs.