ABSTRACT
The safe and economic operation of an aircraft is becoming ever more dependent on electrical and electronic systems. These systems are all interconnected with wires and cables, and take many forms. Electrical wires and cables have to be treated as an integral part of the aircraft requiring careful installation; this is followed by direct ongoing inspection and maintenance requirements for continued airworthiness. Wire and cable installations cannot be considered (or treated) as ‘ fi t and forget ’ . System reliability will be seriously affected by wiring that has not been correctly installed or maintained. Legislation is being proposed to introduce a new term: electrical wire interconnection system (EWIS); this will acknowledge the fact that wiring is just one of many components installed on the aircraft. EWIS relates to any wire, wiring device, or combination of these, including termination devices, installed in the aircraft for transmitting electrical energy between two or more termination points.
