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A 10-foot-long fuselage section from a Boeing 737-100 airplane was dropped from a height of 14 feet generating a final impact velocity of 30 feet per second. The fuselage section was configured to simulate the load density at the maximum takeoff weight condition. The final weight of 8870 pounds included cabin seats, dummy occupants, overhead stowage bins with contents, and cargo compartment luggage. The fuselage section was instrumented with strain gages, accelerometers, and high-speed cameras. The fuselage sustained severe deformation of the cargo compartment. The luggage influenced the manner in which the fuselage crushed, affecting the gravitational (g) forces experienced by the test section. The seat tracks experienced 15 g's vertical deceleration. Although numerous fuselage structural members fractured during the test, a habitable environment was maintained for the occupants, and the impact was considered survivable.

A transport airplane fuselage section with a full complement of cabin seats and anthropomorphic test dummies was longitudinally impact tested at a condition that approached the ultimate strength of the airframe protective shell structure. Airframe structural responses, seat/floor reaction loads, and the interactive effects of secondary impacts between multiple cabin seat rows were investigated. The scope and conduct of the test are presented together with some preliminary analyses of the test results.

The FAA Office of Aviation Medicine has developed, delivered, and tested a variety of training systems over the past decade. The systems, their design, and guidance materials are directly transferable to the aviation industry at no cost. This paper describes the many training systems that are available.

The rapid growth in digital computer technology and display systems has impacted most aerospace disciplines. The designer manufacturer operator and even airplane passengers are all affected by this technology boom. The FAA in its role of certifying new aerospace products is no exception. This paper will emphasize the changing methodology of the FAA certification process with some specific examples of recent flight test programs.

This paper describes the recently established Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuel Initiative (CAAFI), including its goals and objectives, as well as presents an alternate fuel roadmap that was originally generated by industry and refined by the CAAFI stakeholders. CAAFI is designed to coordinate the development and commercialization of “drop-in” alternate fuels (i.e. fuels that can directly supplement or replace crude oil derived jet fuels), as well as exploring the long-term potential of other fuel options. The ultimate goal is to ensure an affordable and stable supply of environmentally progressive aviation fuels that will enable continued growth of commercial aviation. This initiative is organized into four sub-groups: Research and Development (R&D), certification, environment, and economics & business. The R&D group seeks to identify promising new drop-in alternate fuels, and to foster coordination of development efforts.

The crash impact characteristics of commuter category airplanes has recently been established using empirical procedures based on full scale aircraft impact test data for a range of aircraft sizes[1]. To compliment that empirical approach the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) initiated a full scale commuter category airplane vertical impact test program. Those airplane vertical impact tests were structured to evaluate the airframe's capability to maintain its structural integrity and provide a protective shell for its occupants, to quantify the acceleration impact response characteristics of the airframe, and to evaluate the means necessary to provide occupant pelvic/lumbar column load injury protection up to the limits of survivable impact conditions.

The Ice Crystal Environment Modular Axial Compressor Rig (ICE-MACR) was developed by the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) with support from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in response to the need to understand ice crystal icing of aircraft engines at high altitudes. Icing wind tunnel tests on static hardware lack some of the real physics of turbofan compressor such as centrifuging and fracturing of particles, and melting of particles due to compression heating, heat transfer through a casing wall, as well as annular geometry effects. Since the commissioning of ICE-MACR in 2019 new insights have been gained on the physics behind ice crystal icing of turbofan engines. Additionally, the results of various test campaigns have been used to validate engine ice accretion numerical codes. This paper summarizes the key insights into ICI of turbofans gained from the ICE-MACR to date.

In 2021 the Federal Aviation Administration in collaboration with the National Research Council of Canada performed research on altitude ice crystal icing of aircraft engines using the modular compressor rig, ICE-MACR, in an altitude wind tunnel. The aim of the research campaign was to address research needs related to ice crystal icing of aircraft engines outlined in FAA publication Engine Ice Crystal Icing Technology Plan with Research Needs. This paper reports the findings on ice accretion from a configuration of ICE-MACR with two compression stages. Inherent in two-stage operation is not just additional fracturing and heating by the second stage but also higher axial velocity and potentially greater centrifuging of particles. These factors influence the accretion behavior in the test article compared to single stage accretion.

Materials are available for preventing or retarding aircraft cabin fires involving urethane foam seat cushions. Realistic fire tests performed in a wide-body test article demonstrate that some in-flight and ramp fires can be prevented, and that the allowable time for safe evacuation can be significantly extended during a survivable postcrash fuel fire, when the urethane foam seat cushion is covered by a “blocking layer” material.

This paper presents a description of several Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) incident data systems that contain information on events which result primarily from human error. These data systems include reports of near midair collisions, operational errors, pilot deviations, and events reported through the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS). Over 17,000 incident reports are received and stored in these data bases annually. This paper discusses the information content of the data bases, reporting procedures, system limitations, proposed improvements, and uses of the data.

The issues involved in certifying head-up displays for civil aircraft are reviewed and proposed guidelines for the certification of head-up displays are presented. These guidelines are based on experience with civil and military head-up displays and follow the intent of the existing rules.

Recent changes in DoD procurement directives have encouraged the purchase of civilian products for use in certain military applications. One such application is the upgrade of avionics suites with the Global Positioning System (GPS) in military air transport aircraft to meet joint civil-military operational requirements. This paper reviews the Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) concept and the proper use of TSOs, ACs, and FARs in both the design and integration process.

Important provisions are highlighted with respect to the additional airworthiness standards being considered by the Federal Avaiation Administration for small airplanes capable of carrying more than 10 occupants which are intended for use in air taxi and commercial operations. Information is presented on the background leading to these provisions and on their impact on manufacturers and operators. These new standards would result in a significant increase in the level of safety which is more commensurate with the class of operation, the increased occupant capacity, and the expanded volume of operations anticipated for these airplanes.

Average continuous flow rates for each type of aircraft exit were examined in 89 full-scale evacuation demonstrations. Passengers tend to form continuous lines at available exits when evacuating an airplane. The study concludes that, with rare exception, the passenger rates of egress from the same type exit on different make and model airplanes are not significantly different. Passenger cabin configuration, seat pitch, and aisle width have no significant bearing on the egress rates provided the aircraft certification requirements for minimum aisle width and exit accessibility are met. Injuries resulting from actual emergency evacuations and evacuation demonstrations are also examined.