On Aug. 23, Boeing performed a crash test on the fuselage of the new compositely constructed 787 Dreamliner to validate the computational structural analysis tool being used to test the crash worthiness of the plane. Comments on the test results were released today for the first time since the crash test.
According to a release issued by Loretta Gunter, spokesperson for the Boeing 787 program, the test was conducted to confirm the analysis tool could be used in place of the physical tests. “The August 23 drop test of a 787 barrel has validated the computational tool that will be used to demonstrate the crashworthiness of the 787,” said Gunter. “The results of the physical test matched the analytical tool well within the allowable parameters.”
The validation of this tool was necessary to demonstrate compliance with the Special Condition published by the Federal Aviation Administration (on the Federal Register) to cover the crashworthiness of Boeing’s composite structure.
“Based on this, we will continue modeling a variety of crash scenarios to comply with the FAA's special condition requiring us to demonstrate that the 787 is as crashworthy as today's aluminum airplanes,” says Gunter.
Boeing is still on schedule to deliver the 787 Dreamliner to its first customer, All-Nippon Airways in May of 2008.
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