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Meeting	ACGS Committee Meeting 96 - Hilton Head - October 2005
Agenda Location	8 SUBCOMMITTEE A - AERONAUTIC AND SURFACE VEHICLES 8.1 Naval Aviation Mishap Investigations Using Engineering Simulations at the Naval Air Systems Command: Past, Present, and Future
Title	Naval Aviation Mishap Investigations Using Engineering Simulations at the Naval Air Systems Command: Past, Present, and Future
Presenter	Mike Bonner
Affiliation	Naval Air Systems Command
Available Downloads*	presentation video1 video2 video3 video4
	Downloads are available to members who are logged in and either Active* or attended this meeting.
Abstract	The Secretary of Defense has recently challenged the Department of Defense to reduce the number of aircraft mishap and accident rates by at least 50%. To meet this goal, hazards identified as root causes in aircraft mishaps and accidents must be completely understood so appropriate mitigation measures can be taken to eliminate or reduce the risk associated with these hazards. High fidelity aircraft flight simulation has an important role to play in meeting this goal. Over the past several decades, significant improvements have been made in the NAVAIR Air Vehicle Engineering Department Aeromechanics Division’s (NAVAIR 4.3.2) ability to ascertain the root causes of aircraft mishaps. These investigation technique improvements have evolved in parallel with the incorporation of digital computing resources into aircraft platforms. These processing systems can provide engineers with key aircraft data regarding flight conditions, aircraft states (pilot commands, actuator positions, engine settings) and the failure state of the aircraft at the time the mishap occurred. Engineers utilize this and more traditional mishap data (such as the pilot accounts of events, witness accounts, cockpit video/audio, and engineering investigations (EIs) of aircraft components) to generate hypotheses on the root cause of the mishap. However, analyses alone are often insufficient to prove or disprove these hypotheses due to the complexity of modern digital fly-by-wire aircraft. High fidelity aircraft flight simulation is used as an important tool to prove out these hypotheses. In some instances, a severely limited amount of data are available due to mishap circumstances and the role of high fidelity flight simulation is even more crucial to the investigation process. The role of simulation in the mishap evaluation does not usually end with determination of the root cause of the mishap. High fidelity aircraft flight simulation is often used in follow-on efforts to determine how best to mitigate hazards associated with a mishap, form the basis for whether a procedural or design change is required to mitigate the hazards. This presentation provided an overview the process used by NAVAIR 4.3.2 to investigate aircraft mishaps and accidents with an emphasis on the role simulation plays in this process. Specific examples were included of how various levels of simulation (pilot-in-the-loop, hardware-in-the loop, desktop batch mode simulations) are used in the process. Lessons learned over the past 20 years were explored, along with a discussion of how these lessons apply to future tactical aircraft systems.