Washington ( CNN ) -- Nearly 16 years after a fuel tank explosion destroyed TWA Flight 800 , killing all 230 aboard , the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday proposed to fine Boeing Co. $ 13.57 million for failing to meet a deadline intended to prevent similar catastrophes . The FAA said Boeing failed to meet a 2010 deadline to give airlines information on how to reduce fuel tank flammability , missing the deadline by 301 days for its B-747 aircraft , and by 406 days for its B-757 planes . Because of the missed deadline , airlines have asked the FAA for extensions to make necessary fixes , the FAA said . The FAA said it is considering extending a deadline requiring airlines to retrofit half of their aircraft by 2014 , but will not extend a 2017 deadline to retrofit all impacted aircraft . Some 383 Boeing aircraft in the United States are affected by the delays , it said . `` We take this matter very seriously , '' said acting FAA Administrator Michael Huerta . `` We have issued hundreds of directives to eliminate fuel ignition sources over the past 16 years , and this step will add another layer of safety . '' In a two-page letter to Boeing on Friday , the FAA proposed the fine of $ 13,574,400 . Miles Kotay , a Boeing spokesman , said Friday in a statement that the company is `` committed '' to continuing efforts to provide a solution to the problem . `` Boeing has since provided the service instructions to the FAA concerning the out-of-production aircraft that are the subject of the proposed penalty , '' the statement said . `` In compliance with the rule changes , Boeing has already included a Flammability Reduction System in the basic design on the 747-8 and 787 . The system is being installed on all Boeing airplanes currently in production ( 737 , 747-8 , 767 , 777 and 787 ) and is available for retrofit on all other out-of-production models . The system is currently in service on 1,805 Boeing airplanes around the world . '' The July 17 , 1996 , explosion of TWA 800 , a Boeing 747 , was one of the deadliest accidents in aviation history , and was among the most difficult to solve . Although it was originally feared the explosion over the Atlantic Ocean near Long Island , New York , may have been downed by terrorists , National Transportation Safety Board investigators eventually concluded that a short in some electrical lines ignited the volatile fuel-air mixture in the plane 's nearly empty center-wing fuel tank . The TWA 800 case illustrates the slow process of identifying and correcting dangerous systems on sophisticated aircraft . By the time all jetliners are retrofitted with safety systems in 2017 , two decades will have passed since the initial accident . The FAA has itself come under fire for the slow pace of change . In 2005 , the NTSB criticized the FAA , saying there had been little progress in making aircraft safer from fuel tank explosions . `` The stark reality is that on a fleet-wide basis , on the flammability side we are no different today than we were in 1996 , '' the NTSB said at the time . On Friday , the FAA took the offensive , saying Boeing had failed to meet deadlines . The FAA said that since the TWA accident , it has issued 283 directives to prevent the ignition of vapors in and around commercial aircraft fuel tanks . In January 2010 , Boeing committed to providing instructions for FAA approval for airline mechanics by December of that year . The instructions were to explain how to install systems that would replace the oxygen in airplane fuel tanks with non-flammable nitrogen gas , reducing the risk of explosion . But it missed those deadlines , the FAA said . The FAA said Airbus , the other aircraft manufacturer , met the deadline . Boeing has 30 days to respond to the agency .
The FAA says Boeing has failed to meet a deadline to prevent similar crashes as TWA Flight 800 . The flight crashed in July 1996 after an explosion in the central fuel tank . Boeing has n't yet given airlines information on how to reduce fuel tank flammability , FAA says .