FireDOC Search

Author
Leonard, J. T. | Budnick, E. K. | Rosenbaum, E. R. | Perrault, D. J. | Hayes, E. D.
Title
Flightline Aircraft Fire Incidents and Suppression Agent Effects: Field Inquiries and Incident Analysis. September 1992-April 1993.
Coporate
Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC Hughes Associates, Inc., Columbia, MD
Report
WL-TR-93-3519, April 1994, 114 p.
Distribution
AVAILABLE FROM National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Technology Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Springfield, VA 22161. Telephone: 1-800-553-6847 or 703-605-6000; Fax: 703-605-6900; Rush Service (Telephone Orders Only) 800-553-6847; Website: http://www.ntis.gov
Keywords
aircraft fires | fire suppression | statistics | halon 1211 | extinguishment | aqueous films | aqueous foams | water | dry chemicals | statistics
Identifiers
Air Force; Navy; flightline
Abstract
Air Force flightline fire incidents are characterized by a bimodal distribution; small fires constitute 95% of the database and are considered sensitive to both effectiveness and collateral damage potential of the extinguishing agent. Large fires are relatively infrequent and are less sensitive to collateral damage. The Air Force also experiences approximately 600 "unreported" agent discharges each year. The agent most frequently used for small and unreported incidents is Halon 1211. A relatively low loss rate of $12.2K per incident is attributable to minimal collateral damage associated with the use of Halon 1211. The high frequency of these incidents indicates that conversion to a potentially contaminating agent such as dry chemical can have a significant adverse impact on aircraft "out of service" and repair costs. The annual costs associated with engine repairs due to collateral damage could be as high as $40.5M. This assumes an annual frequency of 162 incidents involving contamination of aircraft.