Aircraft Fire Hazards, Protection & Investigation
June 27-30, 2023
BlazeTech Corporation
29B Montvale Ave.
Woburn, MA 01801 USA
4-day course in-person. All participants must show proof of compliance with US federal and Massachusetts COVID-19 travel requirements at the time of the course; and those who do not will be denied entrance to the course.
By N. Albert Moussa, PhD, PE
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Course Outline
- Review of Fundamentals
- Outline of fire scenarios to be studied
- Reaction types and fire classification
- Screening ignition sources
- Stages of fire development
- Fuel Tank Fire and Explosion
- Ullage flammability and deflagration
- Predict fire/overpressure using BlazeTank
- N2 Inerting: 9% vs. 12% O2
- Penetration/perforation by debris/bullet impacts
- SFAR 88: lessons learned (TWA 800, B747, NY)
- Engine Fires
- When to use hot surface vs. auto ignition temp.
- Full-scale tests on AV8-B and simulated F-16
- Protection systems
- Oil fire (Trent 972, Airbus A380, Indonesia)
- Post-landing engine fires (CFM56, B737, Okinawa)
- Engine burst (CF6, DC-10, Sioux City, IA)
- Post-Crash Fires
- Pool fire (Air France 358, A340, Toronto, Canada)
- Fuel misting due to impact forces (NASA crash test)
- Impact (Asiana 214, B777, San Francisco, CA)
- Rejected takeoff (Continental 603, DC-10-10, LAX)
- Lightning strike (Aeroflot Flight SU1492, Moscow)
- Li- Battery Fires
- Primary cells, rechargeable cells, battery essentials
- Battery fire hazards, standards and testing
- Fire in packing facility at airport, Los Angeles, CA
- Inadequate battery handling, Toluca, Mexico & LAX
- Li ion battery fires in APU (JAL, B787, Boston, MA)
- Cell phone fire (Qantas 7, A380, SW of Dallas)
- Li- Battery Fires in Cargo
- UPS 6, B747, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Asiana Cargo 991, B747, Jeju Island, South Korea
- UPS 1307,DC-8, Philadelphia, PA
- South African 295, B747, Mauritius, Indian Ocean
- FedEx Express 0004, MD-11, Memphis, Tennessee
- FedEx protection system
- UPS protection system
- Flammability of Polymeric Materials
- Thermal degradation, ignition, flaming, smoldering, smoke, toxicity, flame retardants
- FAR 25.853 test methods
- Effects of pressure and oxygen concentration
- Attendant uniforms
- Cabin Fires
- Breached fuselage vs. burn-through
- Flammability of seats and panels
- Flashover (full scale FAA tests)
- Passenger evacuation (British Airtours, B737, Manchester, UK)
- Fires in Cargo and Hidden Areas
- Ventilation and smoke movement
- Federal Express, Boston
- Oxygen generator fire (ValuJet, DC-9 Everglades)
- Asian Airlines 991, Jeju Int. Airport
- Smoke and Fumes
- Smoke movement
- NBS smoke chamber
- Air Canada 797, DC-8, Cincinnati, OH
- Cockpit protection equipment
- Electrical Wiring Fires
- Wire types: Teflon, Tefzel, Kapton, TKT
- Wiring problems, causes, fixes and challenges
- Swiss Air 111, MD-11, Nova Scotia
- Flammability of Composite Structures
- Unique properties of composites
- Fire test methods
- Thermal degradation model
- Composites v. Aluminum structures
- Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
- External Hazards That Can Impact Aircraft
- Classification of energetic/hazardous materials
- Detonation and air blast from explosives
- Internal explosions (Pan Am 103, B747, Lockerbie)
- Structural response: local v. global deformation
- Debris impact, hydrodynamic ram, leading to fire
- Concorde disaster (Air France 459, Gonesse)
- Fire Detection Systems
- Types: smoke, ionization, thermal and optical
- Pros and cons of various detector types
- Use in various hazard zone classifications
- Fire Suppression Systems
- Passive and active fire suppression in fuel tanks
- Halons and replacement agents, clutter effects
- Hand-held systems
- Ground-based AFFF fire suppression strategies
- Environmental issues with AFFF
- Drones and Safety Implications
- Electric and hydrogen-powered aircraft
- Flammability properties of hydrogen
- Crash fire hazards of hydrogen vs jet fuel
- Aircraft Accident Investigation
- Investigative process (ICAO, NTSB, FAA)
- Anatomy of a fire accident; accident precursors
- Forensic tools, NFPA 921
- Timeline and pathline reconstruction
- Critical tests and modeling
- Contributory human factors
- Summary of Fire/Explosion Pattern Recognition
- In-flight v. ground fires
- Prev. post-crash fires (CRJ-100, Lexington, KY)
- Explosions: solid v. fuel vapor (TWA 800, B747, NY)
- Structural failures identification
- Impact from debris v. ballistic threat
- Casualties from smoke inhalation v. thermal injury
Discussions are encouraged throughout the course.