FAA Aims to Extinguish Fire as Aviation Risk
Research from the FAA’s William J. Hughes Technical Center aims to eliminate all aircraft fire hazards, whether arising from the cabin or post-impact exigencies.
Over the last half-century, statistics show that the probability of death by fire in a survivable aviation accident had dropped by more than 50 percent. This improvement can be directly attributed to advancing research in fire safety, the purpose and quest of the Fire Safety Branch at the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center.
Part of the Aviation Research Division, the Fire Safety Branch aims to eliminate all aircraft fire hazards, whether arising from the cabin or post-impact exigencies.
Dr. Robert Ochs manages the branch, which performs multi-faceted research across five program areas: Cargo Fire Safety, Hazardous Materials Fire Safety, Propulsion Power & Fuels Fire Safety, Materials Flammability & Cabin Safety, and Advanced Fire Research.
“Our research program supports [aircraft certification] by performing laboratory fire tests on aircraft systems and materials to provide objective test data to substantiate FAA regulations and standards,” Ochs said. “The branch also serves as a global center for aircraft fire safety expertise and capability, and is often called upon for urgent consultation and testing related to aircraft fire incidents and accidents.”
Though two aviation tragedies in 1996 — the disintegration of TransWorld Airlines Flight 800 off Long Island and the ValuJet Flight 592 crash into the Everglades — triggered immediate research into fuel tank inerting and cargo safety, respectively, the Fire Safety Branch’s Research & Development efforts are not driven by catastrophe. In fact, most of the work conducted by the Fire Safety Branch arises from the fundamental quest to optimize passenger safety by making aircraft more resilient to fire. The initial design goal of the team has been to minimize the likelihood of a fire at any location throughout an aircraft. Or, short of that ideal, to develop systems that will detect a cabin fire and either suppress or extinguish it to allow for an aircraft’s safe landing.
Along those lines, the Fire Safety Branch strives to develop a totally fire-resistant passenger aircraft cabin with the goal of eliminating cabin fire as a cause of death. Because cabin components like sidewall and partition trim, seat cushions, wiring, and storage bins still constitute fire hazards, the branch continues targeting materials that can be used to make these components, such as thermoset resins, thermoplastics, textile fibers, and elastomers for upgraded fire resistance.
The branch operates extensive fire test facilities. These include a one-of-a-kind Full-Scale Fire Test Facility, a chemistry and material science laboratory, an aircraft components fire test facility, a materials flammability test lab, a generic engine nacelle fire simulator, and a large wind tunnel. The branch also has five ground test aircraft for performing tests inside real aircraft cabins and cargo compartments with operational aircraft systems for replicating in-flight conditions on the ground.
Within those test facilities, team members conduct and plan projects that address both long-standing and emerging fire threats. It’s also where the branch seeks to improve post-impact fire survivability by developing and researching two interrelated systems. One aims to extend passenger escape time and the other to boost passenger evacuation rate.
The branch has several current projects to address cargo and hazardous materials safety:
- Investigating lithium battery fire safety in cargo, installed aircraft systems, and electronic devices in the cabin and flight deck
- Evaluating full-scale hazard of dry ice for COVID-19 vaccine shipments in cargo aircraft
- Assessing fire hazard of disinfectant liquids for surface-borne viruses and bacteria
- Producing training videos to educate gate agents and baggage handlers on the hazards of lithium batteries in passenger luggage
Those that address propulsion and fuel systems:
- Evaluating engine fire suppression agents and refining minimum performance standards for non-Halon fire suppression agents
- Generating test data on engine fires in narrow compartments to validate computational fire models
And those that address materials flammability and occupant survivability:
- Developing test methods for composite fuselage and structure (e.g., Boeing 787 and Airbus A350) and other hidden materials (e.g., wires, ducts, hoses)
- Evaluating flammability properties of 3D-printed cabin components
- Evaluating flammability of non-traditional materials in aircraft cabins and structure
Beyond the Technical Center, aviation fire safety is a global issue. To that end, the Fire Safety Branch partnered with the FAA’s Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) and several international airworthiness authorities to further research and advance safety through the Fire and Cabin Safety Research Group (FCSRG). The branch also sponsors the International Aircraft Materials Fire Test Forum three times each year, and the semi-annual International Aircraft System Fire Protection Forum.
The Fire Safety website supplies a wealth of fire safety research information for public consumption. A recently launched cargo safety sub-site focuses on current research into cargo fire threats and mitigations, especially regarding lithium battery transport.
“The Fire Safety website is intended as a hub for all aircraft fire safety knowledge,” Ochs said. “It’s a one-stop-shop for all information on aircraft fire safety — a compilation of decades of laboratory research all in one place — and it is continuously updated with the most recent research findings.”
In addition, the website provides information about upcoming international working group meetings and conferences. Visitors to the site can even access historical technical reports, view training videos and photographs, review proceedings from those international forums, and download the acclaimed Aircraft Materials Fire Test Handbook.
The website is an almanac of all things fire safety and a fitting complement to the steadfast, sweeping research and development conducted by the Fire Safety Branch to eliminate fire hazards in aviation.
