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Aviation Accidents Aetiology from Catastrophe Theory Point of View

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Aviation Accidents Aetiology from Catastrophe Theory Point of View 27TH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF THE AERONAUTICAL SCIENCES AVIATION ACCIDENTS A ETIOLOGY FROM CATASTROPHE THEORY POINT OF VIEW Maciej Lasek *, Krzysztof Sibilski **,! , Józef Żurek ** *The State Commission of Aircraft Accidents Investigation, Warsaw, Poland, ** Air Force Institute of Technology, Warsaw, Poland !Faculty of Power and Mechanical Engineering, Wroclaw University of Technology, Wroclaw Poland Keywords : Theory of Catastrophe, Aircraft Accidents Reconstruction, Aviation Safety, Flight Dynamics Modeling and Simulation and simulations of specific occurrences. A very interesting work is treatise [15] containing Abstract reconstruction of a crash of Boeing 737-300 Human error is often cited as a major airliner no. N513AU belonging to USAir contributing factor or case of incidents and airlines (flight 427). The crash took place near accidents. Reason proposes a view that many Pittsburgh (the aeroplane fell near the town of th accidents are catalyzed by persons not present Aliquippa, Pennsylvania) on September 8 1994 at the time of the event. In fact, it is this source [79]. Official statement of the commission of of latent conditions that pose a most significant investigating aircraft crashes said that the direct threat to the safety of complex system. Another cause of the crash was uncontrolled descents 1 dimension to human error in aviation are the which lead to hitting the ground . Calkins active errors that can precipitate the alignment showed that the loss of control over the aircraft or trigger the latent conditions. The risk could have been caused by a vortex flowing off associated with aviation is a dynamic element the wings of a Boeing 747 airliner flying in that is affected by both latent conditions and front of N513AU aeroplane. The effect of this significant factors. In our opinion this dynamics independent expert’s report by Calkins was a nature of risk in aviation can be described in range of theoretical works and in-flight terms of Theory of Catastrophe. Using Reason's investigations (undertaken, among others, by latent failure model, we try to describe this NASA) documenting the existence of threat to dynamics nature using the cusp catastrophe the safety of landing approach by such vortex model. In our opinion the descriptive and (e.g. work by Nelson and Jumper “ Aircraft wake predictive nature of cusp catastrophe model vortices and their affect on following aircraft ” works as a map to illustrate the nature of [67]). aviation accidents in terms of "instability" Published data shows that during the ten year resulting from the alignment of latent conditions period 1997-2006, 59% of fatal aircraft and influence of active errors. accidents were associated with Loss-of-Control (LOC) [77, 83, 103]. The notion of loss-of- control is not well-defined in terms suitable for 1. Introduction 1 Report NTSB [79]. Report stated, that a probable cause of the crash Problems connected with reconstruction of was the loss of control of the aeroplane (claimed in the original) „ The aircraft crashes were the subjects of many National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the USAir flight 427 accident was a loss of control of the works. One can mention here works by Calkins airplane resulting from the movement of the rudder surface to its [15], Ditenberger, Haines and Luers [23], Luers blowdown limit. The rudder surface most likely deflected in a direction opposite to that commanded by the pilots as a result of a jam of the main and Ditenberger [54], Maryniak [57, 58, 59]. rudder power control unit servo valve secondary slide to the servo valve The works mentioned above contained analyses housing offset from its neutral position and overtravel of the primary slide. ” Maciej Lasek, Krzysztof Sibilski, Józef Żurek rigorous control systems analysis. The the wreckage and other investigatory actions are importance of LOC is emphasized in work taken into account. [27] where the inadequacy of current This paper will discuss LOC in terms of definitions is also noted. On the other hand, controllability/observability, bifurcation flight trajectories have been successfully analysis, and safe sets analysis in aspects of analyzed in terms of a set of five two- Theory of Catastrophe. The inter-relationships parameter envelopes to classify aircraft between these attributes and their relationship incidents as LOC [49]. As noted in that works, to aircraft LOC will be discussed. Investigating LOC is ordinarily associated with flight LOC requires the use of aircraft dynamical outside of the normal flight envelope, with models that are accurate outside of the normal nonlinear behaviors, and with an inability of the flight envelope. In particular it is necessary to pilot to control the aircraft. These results characterize post stall and spin behaviors that provide a means for analyzing accident data to are often associated with LOC events. We will establish whether or not the accident should be specifically address control issues that arise classified as LOC. Moreover, they help near stall. We illustrate uncontrolled identify when the initial upset occurred, and departures of generalized aircraft near stall when control was lost. The analysis also (caused by icing for example) and give some suggests which variables were involved, thereby first illustrations of recovery from post providing clues as to the underlying mechanism departure states. Additionally we consider of upset. However, it does not provide direct difficulties associated with remaining within a links to the flight mechanics of the aircraft, so specified flight envelope when control it cannot be u s ed proactively to identify authority is limited. Finally we summarize our weaknesses or limitations in the aircraft or its results in the cusp catastrophe terms. control systems. Moreover, it does not explain how departures from controlled flight occur. In particular, we would like to know how 2. Theory of Catastrophe - an overview environmental conditions (like icing) or faults Catastrophes are bifurcations between (like a jammed surface or structural damage) different equilibriums, or fixed point attractors. impact the vulnerability of the aircraft to LOC. It originates from the French mathematician LOC i s essentially connected to the Rene Thom in the 1960s. Thom has nonlinearity of the flight control problem. demonstrated through his classification theorem Nonlinearity arises in two ways: 1) the intrinsic that all discontinuous phenomena that can be nonlinearity of the aircraft dynamics, and 2) expressed in terms of four or fewer independent through state and control constraints. In this variables (also called control dimensions) which paper we consider control issues that arise exit in many branches of science and these can from both sources. First, we examine the be modeled using one of seven elementary implications of the nonlinear aircraft catastrophes. The most commonly applied dynamics. Bifurcation analysis is used to catastrophe has been the cusp model. Figure 1 study aircraft control properties and how they shows the basic form of the generated change with the flight condition and deterministic cusp model. parameters of the aircraft. Each catastrophe model can be formalized The starting point, allowing to reconstruct an by potential or gradient structures, a potential aircraft crash, is the data from many sources. function F( x, µµµ) is a function of system state The main source of information is the data vector x, and the control parameters vector µµµ. coming from an on-board flight parameter The Cusp Catastrophe Model consists of one recorder (for example SARPP-12). Apart from behaviour variable and only two control that, also recordings of conversations made by variables. In works [60, 104] it is shown that the the crew, photos of the occurrence, drawings, ability to regulate a system was lost at points witness statements, way and direction of scatter associated with bifurcation of the trim of the wreckage, after-crash investigations of equations; ordinarily indicating stall in an 2 Aviation Accidents Aetiology From Catastrophe Theory Point of View aircraft. Such a bifurcation point is always necessarily includes some period of time associated with a degeneracy of the zero outside of C. Above analysis is well described structure of the system linearization at the as cusp catastrophe (see Figure 1). bifurcation point. As such points are Human error is often cited as a major approached; the ability to regulate degrades so contributing factor or cause of incidents and that the performance of the regulator (or pilot) accidents. Incident surveys in aviation have may deteriorate before the bifurcation point is attributed 70% of incidents to crew error. actually reached. Although a large portion of the accidents can be attributed to human error, many accidents are catalyzed by persons not present at the time of the event. In fact, it is this source of latent conditions that pose a most significant threat to the safety of complex systems. Another dimension to human errors that can precipitate the alignment or trigger the latent conditions. The risk associated with aviation is a dynamic element that is affected by both latent conditions and situational factors. This dynamic nature will be presented in the paper using the cusp model from catastrophe theory [76, 104]. Using Fig. 1 A cusp catastrophe model Reason’s [90, 81] latent failure model (Figure The equilibrium surface or set of trim 2), the descriptive and predictive nature of the conditions is a submanifold of the state- cusp catastrophe model works as a map to parameter space that is divided into open sets illustrate the nature of aviation accidents in by the bifurcation points. Within each region a terms of instability resulting from the alignment linear regulator can be designed. However, a of latent conditions and influence of active regulator designed in one region will fail if errors. applied in a neighboring region [103]. In the paper [45] Kwatny et all. we consider how state and control constraints relate to lost-of-control (LOC). In the paper [103] authors defined in- flight LOC as a significant deviation of the aircraft from the intended flight path or operational envelope.
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