Apart from the sad loss of life of Coast Guard DHC-8 Dash 8 aircraft (JA772A) crews, what we saw yesterday at Japan-Haneda Airport’s Runway 34R, was not less an effort comparable to Sully Sullenberger’s heroics on US Airways Flight 1549 in 2009.
The safe evacuation of 379 passengers and crew members within 90 seconds shows the efficient design (emergency evacuation) of the Airbus A350-900 aircraft, aided with the professional approach of the crews of the Japan airlines and disciplined passengers.
However, the scale of fire hazzard and uncontrollable nature of flames on the A350-900 plane (JA13XJ) on Tuseday, will pose many questions before aviation industry, on the usage of Carbon monolithic (CFRP) structure on the future fuselage designs.
Though, investigators will look into many aspects and contributing factors, that resulted the worst possible hull loss for a composite airframe, expectedly, they would also come up with the multiple recommendations on the future manufacturing techniques to improve the “frame resistant” nature of such fuselage structures.
Though it’s a catastrophe, its also an opportunity to analyze, learn and re-inforce our futuristic aerospace designs and structures.
It will be a too early an expectation, but questions remain after witnessing the fire gutted fuselage are :
✔ will there be recommendations on flame proof protective coatings on fuselage, or at least vulnerable areas of wings and center fuselage ?
✔ Will there be recommendations on usage of improved matrix materials in a composite structure to retard the fame propagation ?
✔will there be recommendations on usage of further advanced fibers, or fire barriers in the structure ?
Author – Tanmay Palei