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RELEASE NO. 99-032
TEST SET FOR JUNE 22
Researchers will crash helicopter...on purpose
Researchers at the NASA
Langley Research Center in Hampton plan to drop a helicopter from
more than 40 feet to test whether design changes can help flight
crews and passengers better survive an accident.
The Advanced Composite
Airframe Program (ACAP) helicopter is equipped with an energy
absorbing sub-floor and landing gear. Technicians have installed
four instrumented crash test dummies inside to record conditions on
impact.
 The helicopter will be lifted by
cable off the ground and suspended from Langley's Impact Dynamics
Research Facility. On the afternoon of Tuesday, June 22, engineers
plan to use those cables to swing the helicopter pendulum-style
into the ground. Just before impact, pyro-technic devices will
release the suspension cables from the helicopter to allow free
flight. The helicopter will hit the ground at about 25 miles an
hour.
Every move the helicopter
and its occupants make will be recorded by 15 high-speed film and
four video cameras.
Researchers will use the
information from the test not only to examine how well the special
energy absorbing features performed, but also to help develop a
more accurate computer model to predict helicopter
crashworthiness.
The test, which is part of
NASA’s Aviation Safety Program, is a follow on to research
started by the U.S. Army. NASA and Army engineers conducted a
previous ACAP drop test in 1987.
The NASA Aviation Safety
Program, headquartered at NASA Langley, is a partnership with the
Federal Aviation Administration, aircraft manufacturers, airlines
and the Department of Defense. This partnership supports the
national goal announced by President Clinton to reduce the fatal
aircraft accident rate by 80 percent in 10 years and by 90 percent
over two and a half decades.
The aviation safety
initiative was created in the summer of 1997 by NASA administrator
Dan Goldin in response to a report from the White House Commission
on Aviation Safety and Security, chaired by Vice President Al Gore.
NASA has designated about $550 million over five years for aviation
safety research and development, with more funding expected to
follow.
Researchers at four NASA
field installations are working with the FAA and industry to
develop affordable, implementable technologies to make flying
safer: Langley; Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif.;
Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif.; and Glenn
Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio.
Because of advances in the
last 40 years commercial airliners are already the safest of all
major modes of transportation. But with an accident rate that has
remained relatively constant in the last decade and air traffic
expected to go up significantly over the next 20 years, the U.S.
government wants to prevent a projected rise in the number of
aircraft accidents.
For more information on the
NASA Aviation Safety Program please check the Internet at:
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/aero/oastthp/programs/avsaf/avsafpro.htm
The drop test is
scheduled for about 2 p.m., but could be delayed by unforeseen
circumstances. If you’re planning to attend please call and
check between noon and 1 p.m. and expect to be at the NASA Langley
Main Gate at the end of Commander Shepard Blvd. by 1:30 if
everything is on schedule. Researchers will be available for
interviews after the test.
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