BASIC SCIENCE AND ART OF AIRCRAFT WRECKAGE RECONSTRUCTION

摘要

The author has both flying and airframe/powerplant experience with medium and large public transport aircraft, and his expertise shows throughout this book, which I found to be a useful refresher on basic investigation techniques. The title reflects the fact that sometimes the work resembles an art as much as a science and it was refreshing to see in Chapter 2 that 'physical evidence is king'. Often it is assumed that data recorders are essential to the investigation, yet sometimes the information they contain is corrupted or misleading and witnesses can be mistaken. Careful wreckage analysis is often the only or the final recourse. Some of the subjects covered - witness statements, crashworthiness, impact forces, human factors and the 'see and avoid' concept, for example, may seem surprising but they are all areas where the investigator who is 'kicking tin' must have a degree of expertise. The author introduces these matters with clarity and accuracy. His description of an initial visual appraisal without touching anything and his comments about the theft of wreckage are the practical considerations of an experienced investigator in the immediate aftermath of an accident.