NACA Study of Crash Fires with a Fairchild C-82 Packet

Researchers at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory purposely crash a Fairchild C-82 Packet aircraft to study flame propagation. A rash of passenger aircraft crashes in 1946 and 1947 spurred a White House call for an investigatory board staffed by members of the Civil Aeronautics Board, military, and the NACA. The group addressed fire segregation, extinguishment, and prevention. The NACA established a Subcommittee on Aircraft Fire Prevention in February 1948 to coordinate its efforts. The Lewis team simulated situations in which an aircraft failed to become airborne during takeoff resulting in crashes into embankments and other objects. The Lewis researchers initially used surplus C-46 and C-82 military transport planes. In these situations, the aircraft generally suffered damage to its fuel system and other components, but was structurally survivable. The aircraft were mounted to a rail that ran down a 1700-foot long test runway. The aircraft was secured at the starting point with an anchor pier so it could get its engines up to takeoff speed before launching down the track. Barriers at the end of the runway were designed to simulate a variety of different types of crashes. Telemetry and high-speed cameras were crucial elements in these studies. The preliminary testing phase identified potential ignition sources and analyzed the spread of flammable materials.