Threats to Aircraft Structural Safety Including a Compendium of Selected Structural Accidents/Incidents

This report discusses seven serious threats to structural safety that have become known as a result of past accident/incident investigations. The report describes the historic evolution of military and civilian aircraft structural requirements to prevent instantaneous and delayed structural failure due to these threats; these structural requirements have evolved over the last 60 years to address the threats. The report summarizes each threat and provides authoritative accounts of threat-related accident/incident investigations to further illustrate the nature of each threat; it also discusses lessons-learned and the impact of accidents/incidents on aircraft structural design and maintenance requirements. The report also describes the evolution of fail-safe design and testing, the development of the Air Force's Aircraft Structural Integrity Program, and the development of fracture mechanics based damage tolerance requirements for both military and civil aircraft. The difficulties in developing and validating operational limits to prevent structural failure due to widespread fatigue damage are also discussed. This report provides background for current and future generations of aircraft engineers so that they can: 1) better understand the current requirements; 2) potentially avoid repeating past mistakes; and 3) better address current and future challenges to aircraft structural safety. This report does not address some other threats to structural safety caused by structural overloads (those that far exceed design limits and cause essentially immediate catastrophic failure) due to excessive: 1) flight and/or ground loads (no matter the cause, e.g., pilot error, flight control system anomalies, etc.); 2) extreme turbulence and gust loads; and 3) aero-acoustic loads.

• Record URL:
  http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA519867&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf
• 
• Corporate Authors:

  Aeronautical Systems Center

  Engineering Directorate
  Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH  United States  45433-7101
• Authors:
  • Tiffany, Charles F
  • Gallagher, Joseph P
  • Babish IV, Charles A
• Publication Date: 2010-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 167p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air transportation crashes; Aircraft; Aviation safety; Civil aviation; Crash investigation; Mechanical failure; Structural analysis
• Uncontrolled Terms: Aircraft design
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment; I80: Accident Studies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01173165
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: ASC-TR-2010-5002
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 16 2010 12:42PM