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National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, Report - Mechanism of Start and Development of Aircraft Crash Fires

Full-scale aircraft crashes, devised to give large fuel spill—
age and a high incidence of fire, were made to investigate the
mechanism of the start and development of aircraft crash
fires. The results are discussed herein. This investigation
revealed the characteristics of the ignition sources, the man-
ner in which the combustibles spread, the mechanism of the
union. of the combustibles and ignition sources, and the per-
tinent factors governing the development of a crash fire as
observed in this program.

Recent aeromedical research has shown that the magnitude
of deceleration human beings can withstand Without serious
injuries varies inversely with the time for which the decelera-
tion is applied. The fact that in many airplane crashes high
decelerations often exist for only extremely short periods
of time indicates that worthwhile gains in crash survival
might be realized if the fire that often accompanies crash
were avoided. Acting on the recommendation of the NACA
Committee on Operating Problems and the Subcommittee on
Aircraft Fire Prevention, the NACA Lewis laboratory has
engaged in a study of the airplane crash-fire problem.

This study of the manner in which crash fires start and develop-
is intended to serve as factual background on which features
of airplane design can be based in order to reduce the like-
lihood of fire following crash and to improve the chances for
escape or rescue should fire occur. Although this study will
ultimately include aircraft powered with various types of
turbine engines as well as reciprocating engines, this report
considers only the work completed on aircraft with recipro-
cating engines. While the initiation of crash fires and the
subsequent development of these fires are related events, the
factors of interest in each of these events are quite different,
and they are therefore treated separately in this report.

The current crash-fire research program is one of several
studies made in the last 30 years. In general, the results
of earlier work have been verified in this more comprehensive
investigation. Of particular interest is the full-scale crash-
fire study made from 1924—28 by the U. S. Army Air Corps,
in which single-engine fighter aircraft powered by Hispano
Swiza engines were employed. Notable contributions to the
field of aircraft fires have been made by W. G. Glendinning
and his associates in England.