Associated Retired Aviation Professionals

> ************************************************************
>                        NTSB ADVISORY
> ************************************************************
>
> National Transportation Safety Board
> Washington, DC 20594
>
> November 10, 2003
>
> ************************************************************
>
> TENTH UPDATE ON NTSB INVESTIGATION INTO
> CRASH OF AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 587
>
> ************************************************************
>
>         The National Transportation Safety Board today
> released the following update on its investigation of the
> November 12, 2001, crash of American Airlines flight 587, an
> Airbus A300-600, in Belle Harbor, New York, which resulted
> in the deaths of all 260 persons aboard and 5 persons on the
> ground.
>
> Composite Lug Test
>
>         On August 13, 2003, the NTSB conducted a lug sub-
> component structural test at the Airbus test facility in
> Hamburg, Germany.  Engineers from the NTSB, Airbus, American
> Airlines, BEA, and the NASA Langley Research Center
> supported the testing and analysis.
>
>         The test component was a rear main attachment lug from
> an A310-300 Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP) fin box
> skin panel.  The panel was originally constructed as a
> manufacturing quality test article and was used to
> demonstrate the interior quality of the skin panel.
>
>         The test was to demonstrate the behavior of the lug
> under a load condition similar to that experienced by
> American Airlines 587 during the accident flight.  The load
> condition used was derived from the flight data recorder
> information and the subsequent structural finite element
> analyses.
>
>         During the test, the lug structurally failed at a load
> beyond its design ultimate limit.  The test failure appeared
> to be consistent with calculated failure load analyses
> performed by both Airbus and NASA Langley.  Work is
> continuing at the Safety Board to continue refining  a
> reliable estimate of the loads on the AA587 fin during the
> accident.
>
>         The Safety Board has obtained two other lugs for
> testing.  Two rear lugs were removed from the tail fin from
> the A-300-600 aircraft that was involved in a loss-of-
> control incident in 1997 as American Airlines flight 903
> (see Fifth Update, February 25, 2002).  These lugs will
> undergo structural tests in December of this year and
> February 2004 in Hamburg.
>
> Systems
>
> The team has completed its examination of the flight
> control cable routing for possible failure modes that could
> have led to the accident.  The team has also examined the
> design of the A300-600 rudder limiter system and performed
> comparisons of other rudder-limited systems.
>
> Human Performance
>
>         The group has examined issues related to the
> directional stability and control characteristics of the
> Airbus A300-600, obtaining expert information on
> pilot/aircraft coupling design issues, evaluating aircraft
> response to differing rudder designs, and examining the
> service history of the A300-600 for high tail load events
> that might involve issues related to the accident.
>
> Final Report
>
>         The Safety Board currently expects to deliberate over
> a final accident report in a public meeting in Washington,
> D.C. during the Spring of 2004.


     

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